“Jesus, the Buddha, and Moses all walked into a room…”

It sounds like the start of a joke, right? But they actually have some important topics to talk about: what is real, what went wrong, and how do we fix it?

In this Episode I am bringing three friends together: Jesus (as represented through John 1:1-18 at this point), the Buddha and now Moses.

There is a lot to talk about and the conversation will focus on the three questions that came up when I was “in the room” with Jesus and the Buddha before introducing Moses:

What is real?

What went wrong?

How do we fix it?

They each have their own perspectives, and differences. And there are perhaps some surprising areas of agreement.

These are three of my “friends”, three of the sacred texts I plan to explore in this series. There will be three more, in the order in which my friendships with them began:

Muhammad and the Quran, the Bhagavad Gita, and then the Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu.

As I have done so far, after each gets introduced in their own right, I will bring them together one by one to join the others.

In this case, however, as I explain in the Episode, before I proceed to the Quran I need to bring Jesus back to the room for a one to one sit down. Unlike the Buddha and Moses, he really didn’t have a chance to speak for himself yet, and it seems only fair.

This Episode is dedicated to the 10 Commandments.

There is a big push in the United States to have the 10 Commandments in schools. But what do they really say? And if we answer that, I wonder if we would really want them.

There are good things, certainly, in Moses. But even in a section that most might assume is a fully reliable moral compass, the 10 Commandments, there are some sharp bones that we need to take out and really look at before we swallow. And we will take an honest look at them, as well as the delicious nutritious soup that Moses serves as well.

The Moses Episodes will focus on major themes and events in Moses life, and his pre-history, as those are described in two of the five “books of Moses.” After one Episode that surveys the book of Genesis in order to provide the backdrop, the remaining Episodes will draw from the book called “Exodus” in English.

That title refers to the signature event in Moses’ life and in the life of Israel as a people: the exodus, the “going out” or liberation of an enslaved people from the land of Egypt.

That event will feature in the Episodes, of course, but my interests are primarily in Moses’ origin story. That is why the pre-history matters to me, and why I will spend a good deal of my time in the first three chapters of the book of Exodus. Those chapter speak of the birth and childhood and early life experiences of Moses leading to his role as liberator.

I will include later events in his life after the exodus, such as the period in the wilderness, the giving of the Ten Commandments, and ultimately I will step outside of the text of Exodus and conclude with Moses’ death.

Once we have explored Moses’ life, I will bring back my friends John and the Buddha and discuss the things we discover in Moses, and the three questions John and the Buddha raised:

What is real?

What went wrong?

How do we fix it?

Is This Justice?

“I’ve got good news and bad news…” There are jokes that start out like that, and in some ways the book of Exodus is full of this contrast too…but without the punch lines, because there are no laughing matters here!”

In some ways this Episode raises some of the hardest questions yet. What kind of God tells a person to do something, then hardens that person;s heart so that they refuse, then punishes them, for refusing, but instead of punishing that person, kills their son and the sons of their colleagues, and the sons of all their nation, including the offspring of their animals?

The Moses Episodes focus on major themes and events in Moses life, and his pre-history, as those are described in two of the five “books of Moses.” After one Episode that surveys the book of Genesis in order to provide the backdrop, the remaining Episodes will draw from the book called “Exodus” in English.

That title refers to the signature event in Moses’ life and in the life of Israel as a people: the exodus, the “going out” or liberation of an enslaved people from the land of Egypt.

That event will feature in the Episodes, of course, but my interests are primarily in Moses’ origin story. That is why the pre-history matters to me, and why I will spend a good deal of my time in the first three chapters of the book of Exodus. Those chapter speak of the birth and childhood and early life experiences of Moses leading to his role as liberator.

I will include later events in his life after the exodus, such as the period in the wilderness, the giving of the Ten Commandments, and ultimately I will step outside of the text of Exodus and conclude with Moses’ death.

Once we have explored Moses’ life, I will bring back my friends John and the Buddha and discuss the things we discover in Moses, and the three questions John and the Buddha raised:

What is real?

What went wrong?

How do we fix it?

What is it like to talk with God? And then have God talk back? And what if that, or what if God, is like nothing we might expect?

This episode incudes an extended dialogue between God and Moses.

And it has surprises..

Has it ever happened to you that you suddenly experience something really familiar to you as if it is totally new and it is, well, weird, strange?

Familiar Bible stories can be like that…like in this episode.

Events don’t happen always in a straight line, characters don’t always do what you expect, or even what makes sense.

And sometimes it is as if the clouds part or the fog lifts and you see old familiar territory and realize: it is a lot stranger than you remember it being!

The Moses Episodes will focus on major themes and events in Moses life, and his pre-history, as those are described in two of the five “books of Moses.” After one Episode that surveys the book of Genesis in order to provide the backdrop, the remaining Episodes will draw from the book called “Exodus” in English.

That title refers to the signature event in Moses’ life and in the life of Israel as a people: the exodus, the “going out” or liberation of an enslaved people from the land of Egypt.

That event will feature in the Episodes, of course, but my interests are primarily in Moses’ origin story. That is why the pre-history matters to me, and why I will spend a good deal of my time in the first three chapters of the book of Exodus. Those chapter speak of the birth and childhood and early life experiences of Moses leading to his role as liberator.

I will include later events in his life after the exodus, such as the period in the wilderness, the giving of the Ten Commandments, and ultimately I will step outside of the text of Exodus and conclude with Moses’ death.

Once we have explored Moses’ life, I will bring back my friends John and the Buddha and discuss the things we discover in Moses, and the three questions John and the Buddha raised:

What is real?

What went wrong?

How do we fix it?

I have heard that with war, every battle plan changes on first contact with the enemy…or something like that. So, there needs to be scenario planning for the “what ifs.” Does God do scenario planning? Does God have back-up plans…and back-ups for the back ups?

In this Episode we listen in on a conversation between God and Moses. It reveals a lot about how the books of Moses see God…and see how God and human beings interact, relate to each other. There is a lot of give and take, as it happens. Which raises questions about how to understand the adage that “God has a plan for your life.”

We’ve been exploring divine and human co-agency, and if that is real, and true, then “divine planning” will be complicated and mysterious.

The Moses Episodes will focus on major themes and events in Moses life, and his pre-history, as those are described in two of the five “books of Moses.” After one Episode that surveys the book of Genesis in order to provide the backdrop, the remaining Episodes will draw from the book called “Exodus” in English.

That title refers to the signature event in Moses’ life and in the life of Israel as a people: the exodus, the “going out” or liberation of an enslaved people from the land of Egypt.

That event will feature in the Episodes, of course, but my interests are primarily in Moses’ origin story. That is why the pre-history matters to me, and why I will spend a good deal of my time in the first three chapters of the book of Exodus. Those chapter speak of the birth and childhood and early life experiences of Moses leading to his role as liberator.

I will include later events in his life after the exodus, such as the period in the wilderness, the giving of the Ten Commandments, and ultimately I will step outside of the text of Exodus and conclude with Moses’ death.

Once we have explored Moses’ life, I will bring back my friends John and the Buddha and discuss the things we discover in Moses, and the three questions John and the Buddha raised:

What is real?

What went wrong?

How do we fix it?

Have you ever had a “wait, what did you just say?” moment? “I must not have heard that right!” Well..stay tuned in this Episode, and it has to do with genocide…

Digging into Exodus 3...

The Moses Episodes will focus on major themes and events in Moses life, and his pre-history, as those are described in two of the five “books of Moses.” After one Episode that surveys the book of Genesis in order to provide the backdrop, the remaining Episodes will draw from the book called “Exodus” in English.

That title refers to the signature event in Moses’ life and in the life of Israel as a people: the exodus, the “going out” or liberation of an enslaved people from the land of Egypt.

That event will feature in the Episodes, of course, but my interests are primarily in Moses’ origin story. That is why the pre-history matters to me, and why I will spend a good deal of my time in the first three chapters of the book of Exodus. Those chapter speak of the birth and childhood and early life experiences of Moses leading to his role as liberator.

I will include later events in his life after the exodus, such as the period in the wilderness, the giving of the Ten Commandments, and ultimately I will step outside of the text of Exodus and conclude with Moses’ death.

Once we have explored Moses’ life, I will bring back my friends John and the Buddha and discuss the things we discover in Moses, and the three questions John and the Buddha raised:

What is real?

What went wrong?

How do we fix it?

The Burning Bush

A sacred mountain, flames of fire, wood that doesn’t burn, a divine voice, a cross roads of cultures and religions and language inside the heart and memory life of a lonely man, and the beginning of something still talked about after more than 3,000 years.

The Moses Episodes will focus on major themes and events in Moses life, and his pre-history, as those are described in two of the five “books of Moses.” After one Episode that surveys the book of Genesis in order to provide the backdrop, the remaining Episodes will draw from the book called “Exodus” in English.

That title refers to the signature event in Moses’ life and in the life of Israel as a people: the exodus, the “going out” or liberation of an enslaved people from the land of Egypt.

That event will feature in the Episodes, of course, but my interests are primarily in Moses’ origin story. That is why the pre-history matters to me, and why I will spend a good deal of my time in the first three chapters of the book of Exodus. Those chapter speak of the birth and childhood and early life experiences of Moses leading to his role as liberator.

I will include later events in his life after the exodus, such as the period in the wilderness, the giving of the Ten Commandments, and ultimately I will step outside of the text of Exodus and conclude with Moses’ death.

Once we have explored Moses’ life, I will bring back my friends John and the Buddha and discuss the things we discover in Moses, and the three questions John and the Buddha raised:

What is real?

What went wrong?

How do we fix it?

My friendship with Moses is a friendship rooted in the sense of connection I feel, not so much with his ideas, as with his experiences of life, beginning with his earliest experiences in the womb and as a little child.

The Moses Episodes all focus on major themes and events in Moses' life, and his pre-history, as those are described in two of the five “books of Moses.” After one Episode that surveys the book of Genesis in order to provide the backdrop, the remaining Episodes will draw from the book called “Exodus” in English.

That title refers to the signature event in Moses’ life and in the life of Israel as a people: the exodus, the “going out” or liberation of an enslaved people from the land of Egypt.

That event will feature in the Episodes, of course, but my interests are primarily in Moses’ origin story. That is why the pre-history matters to me, and why I will spend a good deal of my time in the first three chapters of the book of Exodus. Those chapter speak of the birth and childhood and early life experiences of Moses leading to his role as liberator.

I will include later events in his life after the exodus, such as the period in the wilderness, the giving of the Ten Commandments, and ultimately I will step outside of the text of Exodus and conclude with Moses’ death.

Once we have explored Moses’ life, I will bring back my friends John and the Buddha and discuss the things we discover in Moses, and the three questions John and the Buddha raised:

What is real?

What went wrong?

How do we fix it?

The character of the beast in the fable “Beauty and the Beast” turns out to be a complicated mix of brutality and tenderness that is brought out by “the beauty.” The portrayal of the divine character in Genesis is a totally different thing but has more similarities than some may want to consider…

This Episode is a deeper dive into the first of the five “Books of Moses”: Genesis. I explore difficult aspects of the answers these sacred texts offer about what is real, what went wrong, and how to fix it. There are threads of beauty and grace woven into the tapestry, but there are also threads of blood and brutality.

The Moses Episodes will focus on major themes and events in Moses life, and his pre-history, as those are described in two of the five “books of Moses.” After one Episode that surveys the book of Genesis in order to provide the backdrop, the remaining Episodes will draw from the book called “Exodus” in English.

That title refers to the signature event in Moses’ life and in the life of Israel as a people: the exodus, the “going out” or liberation of an enslaved people from the land of Egypt.

That event will feature in the Episodes, of course, but my interests are primarily in Moses’ origin story. That is why the pre-history matters to me, and why I will spend a good deal of my time in the first three chapters of the book of Exodus. Those chapter speak of the birth and childhood and early life experiences of Moses leading to his role as liberator.

I will include later events in his life after the exodus, such as the period in the wilderness, the giving of the Ten Commandments, and ultimately I will step outside of the text of Exodus and conclude with Moses’ death.

Once we have explored Moses’ life, I will bring back my friends John and the Buddha and discuss the things we discover in Moses, and the three questions John and the Buddha raised:

What is real?

What went wrong?

How do we fix it?

I am convinced you and I begin long before we began. Our pre-history shapes much of who we are, and it is impossible to truly know a person apart from knowing some degree of what came before them. It is no different with my friend Moses…

This Episode is largely a survey of the events in Genesis. Moses is never mentioned there, so why begin talking about my friend Moses by looking at a book where he is not named?

Genesis is one of five “books of Moses.” There are different understandings of what that expression means, but for my purposes here it is enough to say that one reason to call it a “book of Moses” is because Genesis tells the origins of the origins of Moses…and it is the backstory to the story of his life, a life closely intertwined with the life of the people of Israel.

So my introduction to my friend Moses begins with his pre-history.

The Moses Episodes will focus on major themes and events in Moses life, and his pre-history, as those are described in two of the five “books of Moses.” After one Episode that surveys the book of Genesis in order to provide the backdrop, the remaining Episodes will draw from the book called “Exodus” in English.

That title refers to the signature event in Moses’ life and in the life of Israel as a people: the exodus, the “going out” or liberation of an enslaved people from the land of Egypt.

That event will feature in the Episodes, of course, but my interests are primarily in Moses’ origin story. That is why the pre-history matters to me, and why I will spend a good deal of my time in the first three chapters of the book of Exodus. Those chapter speak of the birth and childhood and early life experiences of Moses leading to his role as liberator.

I will include later events in his life after the exodus, such as the period in the wilderness, the giving of the Ten Commandments, and ultimately I will step outside of the text of Exodus and conclude with Moses’ death.

Once we have explored Moses’ life, I will bring back my friends John and the Buddha and discuss the things we discover in Moses, and the three questions John and the Buddha raised:

What is real?

What went wrong?

How do we fix it?