What do you mean God speaks?

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Our society no longer really understand what God was speaking to Moses and the Israelites when they received the Ten Commandments and the laws. And so, some of us don't want anything to do with them any more (except maybe the 'don't murder' and 'don't steal' parts); while others among us try to cling on, by posting them on public schools--like statues of dead people that kids don't know or care about. 

This episode, part 1, will explore the meaning of the first two commandments, which will present us with the frame to understand all the others. It'll be a harder task than it may seem at first glance. Because many of us today simply understand these two--"You shall have no other gods before me," and "Do not make for yourself an idol"--as an effort for one ancient religion to out-compete others. But it's doing something else. And we miss it, because we've been working with the wrong idea of God.

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So, finally, an update regarding this series. 

I'm planning a "soft-reboot" of this series in the coming months. No, this does not mean that there won't be a new episode; the next episode of Season 4 is on its way, with the schedule slowly coming back in track.

As to what I mean by a "soft-reboot" and why I'm planning it, and what's been happening in the last few months, listen to this interim episode! 

Also, here's the link to the articles I've been writing for "Geeks Under Grace" website, which I mention near the end: https://www.geeksundergrace.com/author/paul-seungoh-chung/

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“Organized religion” seems to have a bad rep nowadays. It’s associated with authoritarian hierarchies, dogmatic beliefs and rigid rules. Many of us instead want to identify ourselves as simply “spiritual”; we want to be people connected with some greater reality, some deeper truths and higher ideals, to something Divine, but without the confines of organized religion. Fair enough. 

And interestingly enough, in the Bible, the first heroes of faith—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, did not belong to some existing “religion,” and neither did Moses, at least at the start. It was from Moses onward that we have something that we’d now call “organized religion.” And the book Exodus recounts why the ancient Israelites needed it, and the reason may surprise us. Because today, we tend to only see one side of this idea, without understanding the other—the side that we’ll begin to explore in this episode.

Also: “GOD”? What’s That? A Translation Guide on “God” for our Godless World is now on sale. 

Publisher’s webpage: https://wipfandstock.com/9798385244102/god-whats-that/

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After the Israelites escape the Egyptian army that pursued them, they find themselves in the desert. In one sense, this was expected since geographically and physically, Egypt was surrounded by the desert. Yet, the narratives in Exodus, just as in Genesis, are archetypal stories—that is, they describe a kind of templates or pattern of what happens whenever a people follow the call of God. Or to put it differently, that's how Reality works. Such people, at one point or another, will find themselves in some kind of desert. And they will hunger and thirst in that desolate place. But, what does that mean, and how can that be? We will begin exploring this idea that the Exodus account presents us in this episode of What do you mean, “God speaks”?

Update on the book: The publication is proceeding even quicker than anticipated, as I’m now reviewing the finalized edit until the end of October. If everything goes well, the book should be out around Christmas time! The title has changed, to differentiate from this podcast series. It is titled, “GOD”? What’s That? A Translation Guide on “God” for our God-less World. 

Stay tuned for future updates!

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We’ve now returned to start the second half of Season Four. We closed the first half at a key point, exploring the meaning of the blood of the Lamb in the final plague of Exodus, and we'll now begin with the parting of the Sea. Both, it turns out, are closely connected with the ideas weaved through the accounts of Creation and the Flood in Genesis, which in turn points to that of the salvation in Christ. And the key to understanding that is found in what the Sea and its waters meant for the ancients. We’ll first review the past Season(s) and explore the narratives of the aftermath of the final plague to the parting of the Sea.            

0:00  Outer Space and the Deep Sea            

3:16  Review of where we are: Idea of God speaking            

10:32  Review of where we are: the Final Plague            

15:59  The meaning of Egypt’s parting gifts to Israel            

22:58  What God was speaking to different people            

30:18  The Sea as the infinite realm of possibilities            

36:55  The parting of the Sea in Exodus          

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The manuscript of the book is complete and is now in the hands of the editors. It will still be around the end of this year at the earliest for it to be published, but my work--the writing part--is more or less finished! Thank you for your continued support! 

This series will return to the main episodes in June, covering the second half of Season Four, "God awaits you in the desert." 

But here, I wanted to first discuss something about the book, now that it's complete.  First, the book will be titled, "What do you mean, 'God speaks'? A Translation Guide on 'God' for our God-less World." 

So, what is this book is about, and what is its relation to this podcast series?  Simply put, this book is what I'd have written for the first season of this series, if I were to have written it today. I will explain what that means here, and then read what is going to go into the preface of this book, which further reveals what this book is trying to do. 

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I'll be working on the book until end of April, and so in the meanwhile, more extra episodes! 

This episode, I discuss material that did not quite make it into a main episode. One is from Season Three on science and belief-corrections in regard to God. One is from Season Four on Galileo's example of science vs religion. And one that actually doesn't fit anywhere yet. 

I call this the "bathroom thoughts," because of how many of these ideas start from idle thoughts in a bathroom or some similar setting, and after more critical thinking, become the material of this podcast series and the book. Or, sometimes, not quite make it. Also, my short musing on bathroom thoughts themselves.

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We’re back! Sort of.

First, this bonus episode is to announce an update and news. The first season of this series is being re-adapted(?) / rewritten as a book and will be published next year. If everything goes as scheduled.  

So, what with the title of this episode? “A World where God seems no more believable than UFOs” is the catch-phrase of the book, or rather its starting point. It asks—as this series as asked—what “God” really means, when for many of us, God seems “no more believable than UFOs.” What I mean by that, and what this book and the series has to do with that, as well as my musings about my now hopefully completed search to find a publisher willing to invest in my book—that’s what this episode is about. 

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What do we need to make a better world? In a world filled with the news of wars, injustices, human-made catastrophes, what do we need? In a world where our future seem so uncertain and bleak at times, even with all of the marvels we accomplished and progress we’ve made, what will lead us to tomorrow?

And the Christian Bible poses an answer in the form of a symbolic act; long ago, God’s judgment came upon a land, upon every family and every living thing there, to strike down its future. But, that judgment “passed over” the houses marked with the blood of a lamb. Why? What did the lamb’s blood symbolize, and why is that what Jesus understood as what his own suffering and death would bring about? 

This is part two of the episodes exploring the final plague and Passover lamb in the Exodus account, and its significance to the Christian understanding of Jesus Christ.

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We’re back again for another episode! This is a kind of milestone for the series, as we cover a key narrative in Exodus—that of the final tenth plague, which connects to the Gospel account of Jesus Christ. And the question we must first wrestle with is: why does God strike down every firstborn in Egypt? The plague horrifies with us with the image of dead children, though according to Exodus, it’d have struck down both young and old, and even the animals—but that of course only makes it worse. Why is God’s judgment so indiscriminate?

But, what if there’s something more to this plague? What if the story of this plague means something deeper than what’s on the surface? What if it is connected with other stories and ideas that both challenge and expand our idea of what God’s judgment really means? And what if that is why it connects to the story of Jesus Christ, saving all of humanity?

This is actually the first part of a two-part episode, which I had to split because of the length. So, I really want to get the second episode finished and uploaded within this month, though the latest trends suggest that this will be very challenging. So please keep me in your thoughts, and for those who pray, your prayers!

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