#scripture analysis

[mindfulldsliving]

Jesus Christ and the Fulfillment of the Law

The Law of Moses, pivotal in biblical tradition, guided Israel with divine ordinances and societal norms. Yet, Jesus underscored that he came not to destroy but to complete these commandments, elevating them to spiritual truths.

How Jesus Christ Fulfilled the Covenantal Law:Insights from 3 Nephi 15:1-10 and Matthew 5:17-19 In bridging the old and the new, Jesus Christ gave meaning to the Covenantal Law, merging the promises of the past with the insights of his teachings. As captured in 3 Nephi 15:1-10 and Matthew 5:17-19, the transformation from the Law of Moses into the principles of Christ’s message shaped the…

[ck-overanalyzes-scriptures]

July 22-July 28 Scripture Study Thoughts

(Studying Topical Guide: Jesus Christ, Mission of)

Colossians 1:16-17. All things were created by Jehovah. Verse 16 specifically lists thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, which I thought was interesting, as these seem to be man-made constructs. This consideration led to the following thought: It was His mission to create all things and He still causes all things to be. Anything we have is actually His. We may think we have dominion, but its just on loan from Him, so we should take care how we manage and rule over it.

Colossians 1:18-19. It was Jesus's mission to be the first to be resurrected - reborn - from the dead, thus He is the firstborn. Others will come in the first resurrection and be firstborn but He is the first of the first born, showing us the way. It is His mission to lead and rule over the Church. It is His mission to have all fulness.

An adjacently related thought that came to me: I think it's often framed as being part of the first resurrection is a reward for righteousness, which means coming forth in other resurrections is a punishment. I do think the first resurrection is a reward, but the other resurrections being delayed is an act of mercy, not punishment. The first resurrection will take place at the beginning of the Millennium while the others will be at the end. That gives those that didn't qualify for the first resurrection one thousand extra years to repent, change their ways, accept Christ, and have their work done. God will give us every possible chance to change and be with Him.

John 6:37-40. Verse 37 starts with "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me." This phrasing can make it sound like predestination - like the Father has already designated specific people that will be saved while others will not be. That is not supported by our doctrine. Perhaps it could be phrased as "The Father gives Me all those that come to Me." I rephrase it to propose that it may not be that specific people have already been chosen, but that the Father has told Jesus to keep all that sincerely come to Him. That there's not already a set group of "these are Jesus's," but that we become part of the group that belongs to Jesus based on our actions and coming to Him.

John 12:23-28. "Now my soul has become troubled. But what should I do about it? Pray and say 'Father, save Me from this hour?' This hour is the very reason I came! So instead I pray 'Father, glorify Your name.'" Jesus was scared when He faced having to perform the atonement. But he knew it was His very purpose. When the time came, He did ask the Father to let the cup pass from Him (Matthew 26:39), but only if it was the Father's will, only if there was another way. And there wasn't. So He submitted, despite the pain and the fear, focusing on the joy that would result from it (Hebrews 12:2). We may be scared when we face hardship. We may ask the Father to let it pass from us. But if that is not His will, let us submit faithfully, instead praying for strength to do His will and focusing on the joy we will one day have by doing so.

[heavenlymorals]

Biblical References in Both RDR games.

I love biblical references so much. When it comes to literature, it's probably my favorite type of symbolism. Like I genuinely get so happy when I connect things to the Bible which is what I'm going to do right now 😊😊 I also like the way that religion is incorporated into RDR as a whole, including the main characters' reaction to it.

So yup, here are just a few references or connections that I was able to make in no particular order.

Also, some of these are complete reaches and I'm aware of that, but fuck it, it's my blog and I do what I want 💪🏼

- The character and tragedy of Issac. In the Bible, Issac is the child of Abraham who is asked to be sacrificed by God by his father as a test of faith. God eventually intervenes to save Issac because he only wanted to test Abraham's faith. Dutch is shown as a God-like figure to the gang, as their devotion is to him. Arthur, indirectly, sacrifices Issac by not being there and by following what Dutch wanted. Arthur, Issac, and Dutch are parallels to Abraham, Issac, and God.

- Leviticus is the book that comes after the book of Exodus. After the gang's escape or exodus from Blackwater after the Blackwater massacre, they are met by Leviticus Cornwall, who becomes the next obstacle for the gang. After the gang's exodus, they get in trouble with Leviticus.

- The image of the deer and a mountain. Psalm 18:32-34 in the Bible says, "It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way blameless? He makes my feet like deers' feet, and sets me upon my high places." In Arthur's condemnation of Dutch, Micah, and their evil, he becomes steady in his identity and beliefs, like a deer's feet on a mountain, which is where he dies in the end. W symbolism.

- The mission "Sodom? Back to Gomorrah." In the Bible, Sodom and Gomorrah were two cities that were so morally depraved and evil that God decided to destroy the both of them, saying that if there was even one good person in those cities, he'd spare them, but there weren't. In those missions, you also do two evil acts, going from one and then BACK to the other. You rob the bank and then go BACK to collect the debt from Edith Downes. So you finish one evil deed and to straight to the next. This can also show how morally bankrupt Arthur's apathy made him at this point in the game.

- Micah's guns say "Vengeance is hereby mine." This could be a reference to Roman's 12:19 "vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord." Micah's violent nature makes him take his anger out on the world.

- "Your father is seduced by him with the forked tongue. It's no use hoping." The blind prophet to Arthur. Pretty straight forward symbolism, it's a nod to the snake that seduced Eve, just like how Micah manipulates Dutch.

- Dutch walking away from Arthur when he dies and though he realizes his wrong doing and feels shame, his pride forbids him from apologizing or saying he was wrong. This can be a parallel to how Adam and Eve run away from God when they feel shame over believing in the snake, but their pride won't allow them to apologize to God, hence damning them like how Micah damned Dutch.

- There were twelve ACTIVE gang members before the Blackwater massacre. When I mean active, I mean gang members who are canonically consistent (so not uncle, Swanson, Strauss, or the girls) on going on jobs for the gang. Micah, Bill, Javier, John, Hosea, Arthur, Charles, Sean, Lenny, Josiah, Mac and Davey Callender. Christ had 12 disciples and Dutch is portrayed as a savior to the gang, or a Christ like figure. And would you look at that, there is a traitor in both groups of twelve (Micah and Judas).

- Both John and Arthur's graves have scripture from Jesus's sermon on the mountain (Matthew 5:1-12). John's is blessed are the peacemakers and Arthur's is blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

- The go back for the money ending. If you go back for the money and have low honor, you'll see that the camp is engulfed in flames as you try to get the money. The fight with Micah is brutal and you die faced down in the dark. This death is an allegory for going to either hell and purgatory as you choose a final evil act of leaving your brother to possibly die just so you can get money as an act of revenge. If you have high honor, you are still surrounded by flames, but you still have a chance at heaven given that you die facing up seeing the light one final time.

- The help John ending has similar connotations. If you have low honor, you die by gunshot and are shrouded in darkness, which can symbolize the absence of God's light and how Arthur's final act couldn't absolve the lack of guilt he feels for the rest of the actions that he KNOWS are evil (click here for a my interpretation of Arthur's morality). In high honor, though, you get to crawl to the mountain side and see the rising sun, symbolizing heaven, warmth, and a new purity.

- In low honor, the coyote goes down to a dark cave, representing damnation and the rejection of holy light. In high honor, the deer steps into a heavenly field of light. Love that so much to be honest.

- Just the very Catholic vibe of Arthur's redemption. Doing good deeds, feeling guilt, all that.

- John's new life is basically this: "Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need." -Ephesians 4:28. John gives up his old life to be an honest laborer, a rancher, and a proper man.

- The Strange Man in RDR rides on a donkey, which is pretty interesting because Jesus Christ also made his grand entry on a donkey.

- Just the Strange Man in general to be honest. Some say he's God, others say he's the Devil, and others say he's Cain from the Bible, which is my personal favorite theory but whatever.

- Dutch's horse could be a reference to Revelations 6:8- "And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him." Dutch's rash actions caused the death of the gang and RDR's incarnate of Hades or Hell was Micah, following him. Dutch is the only one, canonically, to have a pale horse.

- "Am I prepared for eternal damnation? Am I passed any kind of saving? Or is that just fairy tales?" Arthur in his journal. I love this line so much because of its very agnostic nature whilst still showing the Christian mindset of 1899 America. This line also shows that Arthur is canonically agnostic which is a yippee from me because it's like the only thing me and this man have in common lmao 😭

- "Bad news awaits you, sir. Sadly, sooner than you think. But beyond the news, paradise awaits. Paradise.." Blind Man Cassidy to Arthur. Sorry but I just love that. High honor Arthur lived such an awful life but he still has a chance at paradise and heaven? Love that so much.

- God (pun intended), I love biblical symbolism. Couldn't you tell?

[saltyowlets]

Cullen, Lavellan, and Mabari

"Riku, what do you mean your hc with the mabari?"

Well, more like symbolism but the crux is why Cullen is so symbolically a mabari in so many accounts. Yes mabari are very much Fereldan but their uses within human society, as creatures of war. They are symbols of status and guarding humans from everyone, including elves, ie City elf origins. To use intelligent creatures as means to harm others? I get the feeling that many Fereldan city and dalish elves have strained opinions on mabari because of how often they are used on them. The association to mabari and wolves does not help either, a reminder of dear ol' Dread Wolf. All things considered, I don't doubt there is an instinctive fear of mabari, but here's the thing- Medea, my Lavellan, absolutely doesn't. Her father, a former Fereldan city elf, tried to warn her of the mabari even though there really is none in Kirkwall. But when Medea finally meets one as a child?

She loves them. She finds them adorable

And cute. She loves animals, how can she hate one that is so extremely intelligent and loyal? But when she grew older and became an apostate, it wasn't uncommon to encounter a few, led by Kirkwall Templars, that went hunting for apostates, brought over from Fereldan. So she begins to have complicated feelings with mabari

She does not blame what they are, but they are a reminder of who she is and what life she now lives as a runaway apostate. It's not their fault they were bred and raised for the nobility, chained to a life of loyalty to the wrong person. So Medea still loves and cherish the mabari even when they bite and snap because she knows they can be better with the right person. They deserve kindness and freedom from a constant life of hurt.

Do you see what I'm doing? DO YOU SEE THE PARALLELS AND DOTS CONNECTING-

[idylls-of-the-divine-romance]

Love when people read half of a sentence and then are like I KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS!!!!

No.

No you don't.

Read the rest of the freaking sentence first.

Read the sentence before and after first.

Read the paragraph first.

Read the entire passage first.

Then, please, by all means, tell me your interpretation of that sentence.

[artfulacrostic]

okay i know we're past ddba 1x08 now and i still haven't finished articulating the meta i have for 1x04 but LISTEN im unable to suppress my Thoughts about the titles of all these episodes. veryyyy interesting choices imo! this is about to be a LONG ASS POST so warning you here and now.

okay so in this post i wanna talk about episodes 1 and 3, which both feature titles based on what are commonly perceived as old irish blessings. for ep 1 we have "may you be in heaven a full half-hour before the devil knows you're dead" = heaven's half hour, and for ep 3 we have "may God hold you in the hollow of His hand" = the hollow of his hand. now the actual origin of both of these is usually attributed to being "irish blessings", but there is some amount of disagreement about the precise origins, and how authentic or inauthentic they actually are. also is it just me or are the writers for ddba obsessed with the idea of references to irish culture and/or matt's relation/lack of relation to it?? ep. 5, lol....

anyway, the phrase that inspired the title for ep 1 is, as best as i can find, possibly the last line of an irish drinking toast, but i couldn't find nearly as much online discussion of it and what i did find seemed unsubstantiated. therefore, i'm gonna leave that one as a more nebulous nod to general circumstances of the episode (literal drinking toast to cherry, with foreshadowing to foggy's impending demise) with just a sprinkle of matt's distant ancestry for fun.

ep 3's title, meanwhile, has a LOT more interesting background! the way that heather does the title drop ("may God hold them in the hollow of his hand") implies that she's using it in the way that references this "irish blessing" poem/song:

May the road rise up to meet you, May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

now, this poem has dubiously vague origins, but one thing that is known is that the first line is basically a slight mistranslation of an actual old irish phrase, where people tend to mistake one word that means "be successful" with another word that means "rise". so while the actual meaning is closer to "may your road/journey be successful", the fact remains that the first line does appear to have an origin as a general irish "good luck". the rest of the poem, however, is probablyyyyy not exactly an ancient blessing, but something people came up with to accompany the mistranslation line. several irish people on reddit have called it "yank tosh", which i personally think is hilarious, bc that sounds about right. (i'm a us citizen with irish ancestry that i'm about as connected to as matt is, aka mr. "where's your family from then?" "i'm from hell's kitchen").

in addition, you might have noticed that rather than "the hollow of his hand", the poem actually reads "in the palm of his hand". this is as far as i am aware the more common modern phrasing (and the one i'm familiar with, from the embroidered pillows in my grandmother's house on the irish side of my family—for context i'm about as connected to my irish ancestry as matt is, aka mr. "where's your family from then?" "i'm from hell's kitchen"). however, from searching online it does appear that "hollow" is still used once in a while, just not as often in the context of the poem, especially when it's set to music.

soooooo now we finally get to my argument: despite the title drop via heather which points to the poem, i think the deeper and more accurate reference that the ep 3 title is really making is to isaiah 40:12, which is the origin of the actual God-holding-something-in-the-"hollow"-of-his-hand imagery. check this out:

 12 "Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and weighed the heavens with his palm? who hath poised with three fingers the bulk of the earth, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?"

now that's what i'm TALKING about. your context for isaiah 40—let me be clear, i am speaking from a context of catholic study of this book, since that's what i grew up on and that's presumably how it's relevant to matt our catholic guilt poster-boy—is that post-babylonian exile, isaiah the prophet's message to the people of god is 1) comfort for their pain, 2) reassurance that their sins will be forgiven, 3) hope for the future aka the coming of the lord and how it's imminent and they need to get ready for that, and 4) general glorification of god's awesome power and strength, etc, and that if they have hope in him and persevere everything's gonna be allll good, baby!

unfortunately. the biblical israelites are not so good with the idea of the exile as a just punishment to absolve them of their previous sins, and they express that they feel they have not received the justice they deserve:

  27 "Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel: My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?"

and basically the next bunch of chapters in this book is a piece by piece dissection of why they're wrong about this; god is literally putting them "on trial" in order to refute their arguments here, as he says in the first verse of isaiah 41:

1 "Let the islands keep silence before me, and the nations take new strength: let them come near, and then speak, let us come near to judgment together."

so! what does all this biblical circumlocution add up to in relation to episode 3? glad you asked!

if the episode represents the main themes of isaiah 40 and the book in general, then here we go:

a) what is matt guilty of or feel that he's guilty of? aka, what is his sin that is being paralleled with that of the biblical israelites? well, most recently we have attempted murder, the death of foggy due to association with him, the death of other people (father lantom, etc) due to association with him, and probably other less grave but still bad things like chronic severe and premeditated lying (lol), willfully missing mass (seems like it from how we see him passing by and not going in to the church), etc.

conclusion? i'd say that if the israelites can be forgiven for their sins— 

 2 "her iniquity is forgiven: she hath received of the hand of the Lord double for all her sins..."

—then so can matt, despite everything.

b) in the same vein, what has been causing matt pain? aka, what has been his babylonian exile? i'd say probably the loss of his old life, which, as we heard in ep 7, is still so raw after a year that he feels like his new life is "fake" (ouch).

conclusion? i'd say guess what matt, good news:

1  "Be comforted, be comforted, my people, saith your God..."

...aka don't worry, the pain is coming to an end. one way or another, his babylonian exile is about to be over.

c) what is coming in the near future, and what should matt do to get through it? well, here's the clincher: salvation is coming. get ready.

 4 "Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough ways plain."

this could not just be literal "prepare the way jesus is coming but also a metaphorical sort of, "the oppressed will be lifted, the high and mighty (fisk) will fall, the corruption can be cleansed, and the fucking terrible shit hand you have right now could get better". it super hurts that this episode (1x03) feels like a success for those goals for a moment before hector gets murdered and matt and hector's family are all left with nothing but good intentions.

conclusion? catholicism is big on not just faith, but also works, so matt needs to keep going in the face of all this shit and trust that due to both his own efforts and his faith, things will improve. also not to mention,

29 "It is he that giveth strength to the weary, and increaseth force and might to them that are not." so matt my guy hang in there.

d) the hollow of his hand means WHAT EXACTLY, THEN? you are thinking. GET TO IT? well, here we go: heather's toast is a bit bitter for matt to swallow, why? because of this:

 12 "Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand...?  14 With whom hath he consulted, and who hath instructed him, and taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and shewed him the way of understanding?"

what this boils down to is power: who can do these things? only god. who can god consult with on these things? nobody, because god invented them. god being able to measure all of the waters in the world in the vastness of just one hand provokes an image of awesome power beyond human comphrension. this phrase and much of isaiah 40 in general is a comprehensive reminder of why, in the catholic belief system, god is in charge. not humankind. god knows everything, is everything, and has a Plan that involves holding every creation gently in the palm of that hand, just like the water, measuring the breadth and span of their existence and understanding them down to every atom.

the toast hurts because matt believes god is all-powerful, all-knowing, and yet god's plan didn't involve foggy nelson surviving. god may be holding the court case, foggy, and men who cook in his hand, measuring them and protecting them symbolically, but on earth, it's humans who have to put in the work, because free will is a thing. this is what matt believes. and he believes that he didn't put in the work. he couldn't protect foggy, just like he can't protect hector from being murdered even after doing his best to win his court case. heather might be making a pithy wish for god to appreciate and protect the case, foggy, and a man who cooks, but the man who cooks is still going to be the only one of those things intact by the end of the night.

but he hasn't allowed himself to fully succumb to despair, even in this spiral he's been in for the entire season. he can't, because he has to put in the work. the question is, what is the kind of work he's meant to be doing? what is god's plan for him? so deep down, even though he's in pain, exiled from his old life, a sinner who can't even make it through the doors of church, salvation is coming. he can't make himself extinguish his belief, or stop hoping.

 31 "But they that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall take wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."

[fortes-fortuna-iogurtum]

.

[dr-lizortecho]

as it is something I am now consciously moving about my brain- I’d like to say I am obviously differing in views to a lot of side a Christian’s because I view sexuality as inherent and not ruled by sin and I have the same stance on queerness (that’s including polyamory and any label you want to include)

[animechristi]

Weathering With You: Reading Scripture

Revelation 12:1 “And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”

First, background

Weathering with You is a 2019 anime film by Shinkai Makoto – who you’ll recall from our Suzume article. Shinkai’s taste for blending a regular boy meets girl story into one with supernatural & worldwide consequences is again on full display here.

Second, here’s the story in 5 sentences

Our story follows runaway student Hodaka working in Tokyo for an amateur magazine company. Tokyo has been having unusually rainy weather and Hodaka’s company bites at the story of it being a supernatural problem. The solution everyone is talking about is a “sunshine maiden” –

a girl who can control the weather. Hodaka meets such a girl, Hina, and the two go around Tokyo warding of the rain. However, we soon find out that clearing up the skies is slowing killing Hina and she must either sacrifice herself completely to restore the original climate, or watch whole parts of Tokyo be lost to higher water levels.

Hodaka watches as Hina clears the rain over the city

Third, our focus here

What I like about Weathering with you are its layers of interpretation. On a personal level we can talk about if it’s better to leave a loved one to serve the country or instead if each person also has the right to live out their days with their family. But on a supernatural level, I think it has even more to offer. This comes from a simple question: what is the natural state of Japan? We learn that for centuries sunshine maidens have been sacrificed to hold back the rains, but is this really mankind being virtuous or simply selfish? Perhaps the sunshine maidens aren’t sacrificed to save the people’s lives but merely for their convenience? Once this dilemma is put forth, it can’t be ignored. Finally, Hina’s and Hodaka’s choice is seen as good or imperfect depending on how we view the background dilemma of Tokyo’s natural state.

Fourth, what’s the point?

Precisely that more than one way of interpreting the story’s conflict doesn’t rule out other interpretations. Can we view Hina’s opportunity to sacrifice herself to save the people of Japan as Christ-like? Sure. Could we also view it as humans trying to change nature rather than oversee and work with it? Of course. The two aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying everything is a free-for-all and there is no inherent or objective meaning. What I am saying is that affirming one sense of the story doesn’t mean that is the exclusive sense of the story.

If this is true for simple man-made fiction, how much more for the Bible, which contains the inspired Word of God? Many disagreements in Christianity happen because people interpret passages of the Bible in an exclusive sense. As Catholics we have a rich tradition of reading Scripture in a literal, allegorical, moral, and anagogical way (check out Catechism paragraphs 115-118). For example, the Israelites literally crossed the red sea to escape slavery in Egypt, but allegorically this prefigures Christ leading us out of slavery to sin. Morally, this leads us to no longer live as we used to; and anagogically we now keep our eyes focused on heaven our eternal home.   

Other common examples include the opening quote of this article from Rev 12:1 or St. Peter’s confession from Matthew’s Gospel (Mt 16:18). Does the woman in Revelation signify the Church or specifically the Virgin Mary? Affirming one of these doesn’t exclude the other. Similarly, in Matthew’s gospel is Jesus building His Church on Peter or on Peter’s confession? The answer: Both. The Catechism of the Catholic Church cites Mt16:18 not only in the section on the Papacy (n. 881) but also in the section on the confession of faith of the Christian people (n. 424). Our certainty that Peter was entrusted with leading his brother apostles is not put in danger by also seeing his confession as the foundation of Christian Faith.

Yes, this is how much I've over thought the whole "natural state of Tokyo" dilemma...

Final take away

The full riches of Scripture are only revealed when we read with all 4 senses mentioned above. And because being a Christian affects every part of our life, we shouldn’t oversimplify information that comes to us by viewing it through one lens. We find the bible boring because it doesn’t seem to give the dynamic multilayered view that we expect from contemporary media. We search movies over and over for Easter eggs or talk about why one character is better than the rest. Why don’t we do this with Scripture? Why don’t we search the Gospels or Old Testament for details and cross references that most people don’t catch the first time through? Until we realize that the bible has infinitely more depth than any other work of history, until we search it with the same fervor, until we stop reading it with only one sense, we will always be an incomplete Christian.

St. Augustine by Philippe de Champaigne (c. 1645) was a man whose heart was set on fire for Scripture and in service to God.

[mindfulldsliving]

Understanding 3 Nephi 14:21-24: A Call to Authentic Faith

In the pursuit of true discipleship, words alone do not suffice. This timeless truth is powerfully illustrated in 3 Nephi 14:21-24, where actions, not mere proclamations, define our faith.

True Discipleship: Embracing Christ’s Words for Eternal Entry When it comes to true discipleship, 3 Nephi 14:21-24 offers a clear and powerful message: mere words aren’t enough to enter the kingdom of heaven. It’s a poignant reminder that faith and actions must align seamlessly, ensuring that we not only profess our beliefs with our lips but embody them in our daily lives1. In these verses,…

[sunflowergardens-world]

This one might get me in trouble, but I don't think this is an accurate comparison. Going out and destroying someone else's property is not the same thing as removing unwelcome people from your own. Jesus was in his father's house. He had every right to do what he knew would best honor his father, and he did it. That is not the same thing as going to someone else's property and destroying it because it offends you.

[heavenlymorals]

Biblical References in the RDR Games: Part 2

You guys seemed to LOVE my original biblical references post for Red Dead so I am here to post some more because there are SO MANY. And like before, I am aware that some of these may be complete reaches, but it's my blog and I do what I want 🙃

Enjoy babes ❤️

@headersandheelers @secretcheesecakenacho Since you guys wanted to get tagged ❤️🤭

Arthur and Dutch mirror Moses and Pharaoh in chapter six. Arthur begs Dutch to let his "chosen" go, who are the people who he believes have a chance in living without the baggage of the gang (the women and John and his family). Dutch refuses to let them go, which creates the biggest conflict in chapter 6.

Arthur kicking out Strauss gives me heavy Matthew 21:12-14. Basically, Jesus kicks out loan sharks and sellers from a temple designated as a house of worship where people can be helped. Their presence destroyed the sanctity and the purity of the temple. Both the gang and the temple existed originally to help folks, but the presence of people like loan sharks destroy that original mission. So yes, Arthur kicking out Strauss is a parallel to Jesus kicking out the loan sharks from the temple.

The color for high honor is blue while the color for low honor is red. Blue in the bible is very often associated with heaven and God. Red in the bible represents the flesh that humans are trapped in during their time on earth, which can then correlate back to sin and violent.

Micah was a prophet in the bible who is most known for predicting the fall Jerusalem. Micah in the game also predicts the fall of the gang in the sense that he was the one who caused it. The name Micah also means he who is like God, so the irony is kinda funny.

John being able to see the cracks in the gang before many of the other characters could very well be a reference to this passage: "For you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you Free" - John 8:32. Abigail in RDR also says this which is a reference to this passage: "You knew the truth, John. And they hated you for it."

Just another passage that reminds of Arthur's redemption and the whole searching for peace thing: "Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it" Psalm 34:14

The mission "A Fisher of Men" is a reference to Matthew 4:18-20. "While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.��� Immediately they left their nets and followed him." Of course, beyond just the action of fishing with Jack, this is also a parallel to Arthur's empathetic yet still firm style of talking to Jack. "It's about time you earned your keep." "You got to stick at things, Jack."

The mission "The Sheep and the Goats." In Matthew 25:31-46, it describes how God will separate people in two groups. The "sheep" will inherit heaven and the "goats" will be damned. You can connect that to the gang as well. The sheep are the ones who leave Dutch while the goats stay with him and become damned or a shameful version of who they once were.

Also note in the epilogue how John says he doesn't like goats and chooses sheep as the first animals to raise on his ranch. That could also connect to Matthew 25:31-46.

The mission name "Do Not Seek Absolution" is really interesting to me because it's the first biblical mission name that could either be a reference to scripture, which I'm thinking Deuteronomy 12:13 in the sense that one shouldn't offer their praise or worship to false gods who won't answer prayers (think Arthur and Dutch and how Arthur was still following Dutch after the gang lost it's original image) or a rejection ofa the Christian mindset of the time. Absolution is the idea of the promise of having your sins forgiven by God. It might be saying that Arthur should try to redeem himself by his action towards the person rather than his guilt towards a higher power.

Molly getting burnt rather than having a funeral is less a biblical detail but more a cultural detail. Though cremation wasn't really condemned in the Bible, the passages about being buried in the ground or in tombs was the people's standards in how they wanted their dead body to be handled due to religious reasoning. Whether or not Molly is Protestant or culturally Catholic (I lean the latter), the fact that Grimshaw asks for her body to be burnt just adds so much more weight to how cruelly traitors of the gang were dealt with

Love this stuff sm

[trberman]

Mindful Reflection on God's Love: A Latter-day Saint Response to Scriptural Challenges

A comment recently appeared on the about page for Mindful Latter-day Saint Christian Living and Apologetics, challenging – what the reader claims is – the “God is love message”. This individual cites certain passages of scripture from Leviticus, Judges, and Revelation, as well as certain accounts from the Flood narrative. While I welcome sincere inquiry, I sometimes choose to hold the comment for…

[subhashdagar123]

[gamemasterofscratch]

Absolutely agree, especially since I reread Genesis just now and oh wow look first sin, and specifically first lie, in the Bible is someone trying to tell you that what God says isn’t really true or not really what he meant.

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?””

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

You thought when people painted the "someday you're going to have to choose, for real, between the World and God, you won't be able to walk the line between both" picture that they were talking about martyrdom.

Some extreme. "Trample this picture of Jesus." "Say you don't believe!" "Convert to a different religion!"

You didn't realize that it wouldn't look like that. You didn't realize that when the line gets drawn in the sand, and Jesus is on one side, the other side would look like crying people wailing out, "why can't you just accept me for who I am? Why aren't I enough for you?"

You didn't realize that the choice would be between Jesus the Truth...or a majority of people in the culture making movies, making t-shirt slogans, changing their names, gently telling you that maybe this word in the Bible doesn't mean what you think it means, maybe love just means love, maybe you can have Jesus and whatever sexuality you want.

"Did God really say...?"

You thought it would be something overt. But the bad guys never said, "hey, choose the dark side over the light." They always said, "hey, maybe you don't even know what Jesus said."

The choice is: "It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him." OR "Did God really say...?"

That's the choice. This is where the rubber meets the road. This is our "choose this day who you will serve." As for me, I'm serving the Lord, and He's holding on to me. He never changes, and yes He did really say.

Hold fast to the truth. It doesn't change. People and cultures do.

[tenth-sentence]

Noticing how prominent the issue of homosexuality remained in discussions among Anglican leaders at the highest levels, Brighton looked into the various perspectives evangelical Christians adopt on homosexuality, examining the Scriptural basis of what he terms the exclusive, welcoming and inclusive views.

"In/Out: A Scandalous Story of Falling Into Love and Out of the Church" - Steph Lentz