Modern Names of Places Mentioned in the Bible

 

First or representative biblical mention.

Assyria                         Iraq                                                 Numerous mentions

Chaldea                       Iraq, Kuwait                                    Jeremiah 50:10; Ezekiel 11:24

Cush/Kush                  Ethiopia and Sudan                         Genesis 2:13

Edom                           Jordan                                             Genesis 25:30

Midian                         Jordan                                             Genesis 25:12-18

Mitzraim/Mizraim     Egypt                                              Genesis 12:10. Mitzraim  מִצְרַיִם is the Hebrew                                      word for Egypt. The English language word Egypt is derived from its Greek                                                 name aiγuptos. The modern Arabic name for the country is Misr مصر. 

Philistia                       Palestine                                         Joshua 13:3; Judges 16:5

Put                              Libya, North Africa, Egypt             Nahum 3:9

Rosh                           southern Russia                               Ezekiel 38:2,8

Scythia                       southern Russia, Ukraine                Ezekiel 38:1 

Amazing Grace on the Kalimba

The kalimba is one of the thousands of variations of the mbira. The mbira is a member of the lamellophone family of instruments and consists of a flat board onto which are mounted metal tines of various lengths. The tines were originally made of bamboo but about the year 700 the bamboo was replaced by metal strips. The tips of the tines are plucked with the thumbs. The mbira is sometimes referred to as a “thumb piano.”

The mbira is very common in the Democratic Republic of Congo and among the Shona people of Zimbabwe.

Hello, Burkina Faso!

Bonjour, le Burkina Faso! Bienvenue dans le groupe de lecteurs de cent trente autres pays qui visitent également ce blog. J'espère que vous trouverez quelques-uns des messages utiles ou significatives.

Le gadget "Traduire cette page" au dessus de la «Total Pages Vues" Counter a la capacité de traduire le texte anglais de ce blog directement dans de nombreuses autres langues. Malheureusement, le traducteur est incapable de produire des traductions dans Moore, mandingue, bambara.

Cent trente et un pays: Albanie, Algérie, Angola, Antigua-et-Barbuda, Argentine, Arménie, Aruba, Australie, Autriche, Azerbaïdjan, Bahreïn, Bangladesh, Bélarus, Belgique, Belize, Botswana, Brésil, Brunei, Bulgarie, Burkina Faso , Cambodge, Canada, îles Caïmans, Chili, Chine, Colombie, Congo, Costa Rica, Croatie, Chypre, République tchèque, Danemark, République dominicaine, Équateur, Égypte, El Salvador, Estonie, Ethiopie, Finlande, France, Géorgie, Allemagne, Gabon, Ghana, Grèce, Guam, Hong Kong, Hongrie, Islande, Inde, Indonésie, Iran, Iraq, Irlande, Israël, Italie, Côte-d'Ivoire, la Jamaïque, le Japon, la Jordanie, le Cambodge, le Kazakhstan, Kenya, Koweït, Kirghizistan, Laos, Lettonie, Liban, Lesotho, Libye, Lituanie, Luxembourg, Macao, Macédoine, Madagascar, Malaisie, Mali, Malte, Mexique, Moldova, Mongolie, Maroc, Myanmar, Namibie, Pays-Bas, Nouvelle-Calédonie, Nouvelle-Zélande, Nigéria, Norvège, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Pérou, Philippines, Pologne, Portugal, Qatar, Réunion, Roumanie, Russie, Saint-Kitts-et-Nevis, l'Arabie saoudite, Sénégal, Serbie, Singapour, Slovaquie, Slovénie, Afrique du Sud, Corée du Sud, Espagne, Sri Lanka, Soudan , Suriname, Suède, Suisse, Taiwan, Tanzanie, Thaïlande, Trinité-et-Tobago, Tunisie, Turquie, Ouganda, Ukraine, Émirats arabes unis, Royaume-Uni, Etats-Unis d'Amérique, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yémen, Zimbabwe.

Hello, Namibia!

Hello, Namibia!  Welcome to the group of readers from one hundred and twelve other countries who also visit this blog.  I hope you find some of the posts useful or meaningful.

The “Translate This Page” gadget directly above the “Total Pageviews” Counter has the capability of translating the English text of this blog directly into numerous other languages.

One hundred and thirteen countries: Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France,  Georgia, Germany, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kampuchea, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg,  Macedonia, Malaysia, Mali, Malta,  Mexico,  Moldova,  Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan,  Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Vietnam,  Yemen, Zimbabwe.

Whether From False Motives or True, Christ is Preached

Just the other day, while I was at work, one of the other technologists brought me some religious materials from the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries which someone had placed on the windshield of his car.  The people I work with know that I attended seminary and am knowledgeable about other religions and about cult groups.

I told him what I knew about Tony and Susan Alamo.  Tony was born in Missouri (USA) in 1934 as Bernie Lazar Hoffman, Susan Lipowitz. A Jewish convert to Christianity, was born as Edith Opal Horn.  When they first met, they were both already married to other people.  After they each obtained divorces, they married in 1966 and had their names legally changed.  As Tony and Susan Alamo, they established a Christian evangelistic ministry in 1969 and also sold Tony Alamo brand clothing.

Tony Alamo was convicted of tax evasion in 1994 and served a four year prison term.  In 2008, he was arrested for possession of child pornography. In 2009, Alamo was convicted of ten counts of carrying minor girls across state lines for sexual activity.  He was sentenced to 175 years in prison.

The Tony Alamo Christian Ministries are still active, with churches in the United States, India, and Africa.  Those of the ministry’s materials which I have seen appear to be orthodox.

I have no idea of the sincerity, or lack of it, of Pastor Tony Alamo but I would believe that regardless of who or what he is, his converts are truly Christians.  The power of the Gospel to save is not dependent on the worthiness of the one who delivers it.  Listen to Paul. 


“It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.   The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.   The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.  But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.”  Philippians 1:15-18

The Bible warns against being deceived by false teachers.  This would be those who teach doctrines contrary to what is clearly taught in the Bible. (Galatians 1:8)

Unworthy teachers may teach true doctrine for insincere, selfish,  or malicious purposes.  The Gospel is more powerful than they are and, when truly preached, is effective for salvation. 

The Traditional Dance of the Acholi Tribe

The predominately Christian Acholi tribe is found in Uganda and the southern portion of Sudan.  They speak a Nilotic language.  The majority of Acholi are Roman Catholic or Protestant.  A minority are Muslim.  This video is of their traditional tribal Bwola dance.

All the men carry small drums and everyone follows the lead of one man.  It is considered to be an honor to lead the dance.  Originally the dance could only be called by order of the tribal chief.

The dance, which may last for several hours, is performed in a circle and represents the fence around the royal residence.  "Bwola" apparently means "lies" or"deceit."  I am not sure how this relates to the dance.  Perhaps someone in Uganda or Sudan can explain the meaning of the dance

(Some videos will not play properly when you click on the triangle.  Instead,  click on the title line in the picture and the video will begin .  When the video is completed, close the You Tube pop-up window to return to this blog.)

What Does It Mean?: Apostle

ἀπόστολος  The Greek word apostolos (apostle) comes from the words “apo (away from)” and “stellein (to send),” meaning, “sent off.”  The idea is that of an “emissary” or “messenger,” sent with a message.  The designation of “apostle” was a function, not an office or position. Sometimes apostles were elected and at other times they were appointed. (Galatians 2:8; Romans 11:13; 1 Corinthians 4:17; 2 Corinthians 5:20, 8:18-23, 9:13; 1 Thessalonians 3:2.)

Remember that the early Christians operated from a Jewish understanding.  The Greek "apostle" is equivalent to the Hebrew “shaliah.” A shaliaḥ (שָלִיחַ‎; pl. שְלִיחִים, sheliḥim) was a Jewish legal emissary or agent who performed an act of legal significance for the sender(s).

The Twelve Apostles were called “emissaries” when they were “sent” (Matthew 10:1-8) They were usually called “the Twelve (τοῖς δώδεκα)” or “followers” (mathetai, μαθηταὶ). They were not leaders of individual churches, and others (Junia, Andronicus, Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, Apollos, and Paul himself) were called apostles.

In the biblical sense, it is entirely appropriate to refer to Padraig/Patrick (ca 387 - 493) as the Apostle to the Irish; John Eliot (ca 1604 -1690) as the Apostle to the Indians; and John G. Lake (1870-1935) as the Apostle to Africa. 

The Christian West

"...most people in the Western world are not Christians, and most Christians in today's world do not live in "the West." Most, actually, live in Africa or Southeast Asia."  N.T. Wright, Simply Christian. Why Christianity Makes Sense (2006)

Kimbanguism

"Kimbanguism

In the first half on the 20th century, prophetic movements sprang up. Their nature was both anti-colonial and Christian, and led to a rigorous crackdown by the authorities.

Simon Kimbangu was the prophet of largest of these movements. He was born in a village near Kinshasa, raised and educated by a Protestant Christian mission and trained to become a priest. In April 1921, at the age of 39, he reportedly had a religious vision of Jesus Christ, who called on him to reconvert his people and dedicate his life to Christ. Kimbangu chose to try to ignore the vision, and fled to Kinshasa where he abandoned his life as a priest and took to menial work. More visions came, and eventually he heeded the calling and returned to his home village and started to devote his life to Christ. Soon after, he is reported to have healed a sick woman by laying his hands on her. Dozens of apparent miracles were subsequently performed by Kimbangu, and he gained followers from surrounding villages and towns. The official Catholic organizations protested to the authorities, and the Protestant church abandoned him. The economic effects of Kimbangu's ministry were being felt, with thousands of Congolese leaving their work to listen to Kimbangu speak. In June the Belgians arrested him for inciting revolution and civil disobedience. Four months later he was sentenced to death. After an international outcry, Albert I of Belgium commuted the sentence to life impisonment. He died 30 years later in prison, in 1951.

Colonial authorities assumed his movement would wither after his imprisonment and death, but the church continued to flourish underground, and was an effective weapon in the fight against colonialism. In the post-colonial era, its record has been more mixed. Instead of banning the church, Mobutu used a far more effective method of neutralizing it: namely co-opting the church and giving it an official status. Kimbanguism has now spread across the country, and now has branches in nine of the surrounding countries, making it the most popular "native" form of Christianity in Africa. Followers do not smoke, drink alcohol and abhor violence. Monogamy is practiced."

From Wikipedia article, "Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo," under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike and the GNU Free Documentation Licenses.

The Kimbanguist church is a member of the World Council of Churches  and is officially known as Eglise de Jésus Christ sur la Terre par Son Envoyé Spécial Simon Kimbangu (Church of Jesus Christ on Earth by His Special Envoy Simon Kimbangu).