And now....we're on to chapter 3
Added 2024-12-17 21:54:20 +0000 UTCOur sidequest chasing down the end of Peter and Paul's relationship ends today, and now we're on to the meat of Galatians starting with chapter 3.
Also, I heard back from Patreon regarding the changes they're forcing me to make. They have the transition scheduled for the third week in January (which is much further out than I'd anticipated). I'll keep you posted, but everything seems to be nailed down and on track for this transition thing to finally get knocked out by Patreon at that point. Thanks for your patience with this.
Comments
This is a very apt quote. It is an excellent example of the concept. I remember being told as a youth that manipulation was closely tied to witchcraft (though the one saying that was attempting to manipulate me by saying that, so take that as you will). But it seems to me analogous - part of the appeal and act of 'witchcraft' is controlling things we normally cannot, often including people. Oddly enough, it reminds me of a conversation I read in a book about a wizard in Chicago years back (I think it was the book 'Turn Coat' chapter 28, according to a quick search). Nowhere near as eloquent as Tolkien, though the author has said Tolkien's work greatly inspired his own forays into writing. I've gone a bit afield. We tend these days to shelve thoughts of the supernatural to the fantasy area of our books (or games), and ignore the reality of the true battles described in Scripture. In this I agree with the idea that words were the method of the 'bewitching' but we tend to forget the power of words. And it would not surprise me to learn of people's words being supernaturally enhanced to draw people away- make the person more appealing in voice or cadence, pleasant to the ear and more. People have been mesmerized by well spoken recitations and speeches throughout history and literature. "We have come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. . . " Or "Fourscore and seven years ago, our forefathers brought forth. . . " And Jesus promised times when the Holy Spirit would help in certain times in giving the words to speak (Luke 12:11-12, for example). The enemy often counterfeits what God has done for His people, so why should this not be a weapon raised against believers as one of the 'fiery darts' we must be armored to, per Ephesians 6. Thank you again for sharing this passage in this context, I think it is an excellent fit.
David Wiggins
2024-12-27 15:52:26 +0000 UTCOne thing the further talk on bewitching brought to mind was Tolkien’s description of the voice of Saruman. It seems to work very similarly to a very eloquent and persuasive speaker, thus further pointing to Surgeon’s point about the blending of magic and regular persuasion. "Suddenly another voice spoke, low and melodious, its very sound an enchantment. Those who listened unwarily to that voice could seldom report the word that they heard; and if they did, they wondered, for little power remained in them. Mostly they remembered only that it was a delight to hear the voice speaking, all that it said seemed wise and reasonable, and desire awoke in them by swift agreement to seem wise themselves. When others spoke they seemed harsh and uncouth by contrast; and if they gainsaid the voice, anger was kindled in the hearts of those under the spell. For some the spell lasted only while the voice spoke to them, and when it spoke to another they smiled, as men do who see through a juggler's trick while others gape at it. For many the sound of the voice alone was enough to hold them enthralled; for those whom it conquered the spell endured when they were far away, and ever they heard that soft voice whispering and urging them. But none were unmoved; none rejected its pleas and its commands without an effort of mind and will, so long as its master had control of it."
Zach S. Banks
2024-12-26 02:56:51 +0000 UTCThoughts on 086 - Bewitched. I agree with the implication at the end there that the “ooooh scary spellcasting!” brand of being bewitched and the more mundane “led astray through clever rhetoric” bewitched are not that dissimilar after all. To your point that Paul’s context merges paganism and intellectualism perhaps more than we would anticipate, likewise I think our context has artificially separated them more than we recognize. Our modern times likes to put spirituality and religion (and therefore Jesus) all in the same box with atheism and Science™️ in another box. But that would be a very clever false dichotomy because the way the Bible characterizes it is Jesus in one box and everyyyyything else in another. So the most spiritualistic, spellcasting, witchy aspect of our culture and the most data-driven, “cold hard facts” atheism are under the same spell — the one that says men don’t need Jesus, we can save ourselves through other means.
Tara
2024-12-24 02:27:37 +0000 UTC
