Rabbit Holes & Meditations - Christian Bible Study

The Vatican Discusses AI - And the Berean Juxtaposition

I happened to catch Pope Leo and the Catholic Church discussing concerns about AI. I thought this might be a good opportunity to weigh in as well. We’ve been very open about our use of AI on this podcast. Included in the source material is a recent Vatican discussion on AI and our response to it. I was particularly triggered by the idea that an institution heavily using AI is telling its members not to use AI. This is mentioned briefly in the paper. I think, ultimately, like with any technology the is use and abuse. AI is no different. Your own smart phone gives you more computing power than that used to land the astronauts on the moon. Technology itself is not inherently good or evil. By definition, it is inherently human - in that it can be used for both good and evil. And no, I’m not saying AI is human in the real sense though there is a lot of anthrophonic rhetoric out there with the discussion of AI as sentient or conscious. We digest the information in Pope Leo’s discussion, discuss our own use of AI and how the Berean Filter we use was just to combat many of the very problems that unfiltered AI can lead to, and then issue our own warning about the use of AI. This is also a good opportunity to talk about the content on this podcast. We’re not shy about our use of AI. We embrace it. But I also want to point out, because you see it a lot, that we’ve decided not to put my personal name on the articles written using AI. I think this is a more honest approach in a world where people heavily lean on AI for writing. What you’ll see in our publish documents is “Directed, Produced, and Edited by Greg Newell”. Credit is given to the AI structure we’ve developed for creating the material we publish. Collectively we give the writing credit to the AI system that helps us produce the content - an author we refer to as “the Berean Teacher”. The best way to think about how we produce content is exactly how we state it in our articles. We Direct, Produce and Edit. Our AI system is an amazing ghost writer, and we give the ghost writer credit. Notes - Disarmed But Not Dismissed - the Vatican and AI [https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/d99u552we4n857kk/Disarmed_But_Not_Dismissed_BereanTeacher.pdf] Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/the-vatican-discusses-ai-and-the-berean-justaposition/ [https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/the-vatican-discusses-ai-and-the-berean-justaposition/]

The Temple Evolution - From the Garden Back to the Garden

When you engage with the Bible and the Holy Spirit, you never know where it is going to lead you. This morning, in my quiet time, I sought to understand the relationship between the old temple and the new temple. That led me to seek a deeper understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit. As you dig into these questions, you can't avoid the garden metaphors that are everywhere, so we chased those metaphors. That led to one of the coolest revelations of all. God is Growing a Garden. Well, it all connects, and it turns out to be one beautiful story.... from Beginning to End. Today, I would urge you to read Revelation 22:1-5. Cap that off with: God saw all that he had made, and it was very good (Genesis 1:31).  Notes for the Temple Evolution [https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/gkbgt39rm4r99eej/God_Is_Growing_a_Garden.pdf] Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/the-temple-evolution-from-the-garden-back-to-the-garden/ [https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/the-temple-evolution-from-the-garden-back-to-the-garden/]

Daniel's 70 Weeks - Debunking Darby and the Premillennial Rapture Theory

In our last study, we addressed the question of the rapture head-on. This taught me a lesson that I sometimes forget. Read the text! Understand the context. It seems that no matter what denomination and no matter how well-versed the pastor is, the theory of the rapture changes like changing the channel on the television. The pastor is the news anchor. If you don’t like CNN’s version, flip over to Fox. If you don’t like Fox’s version, flip over to MSNBC. Nobody seems to be reporting the event. There is always a spin in the “no-spin zone”! It’s like somehow the news cycle has found itself caught up in the Rapture discussion. Say Jared Kushner has just secured a peace deal in the Middle East. Pastors who have been engaging with the political narrative are being interviewed across the country. The story on your first news channel is classic dispensational warnings. The rapture will happen at any moment. Expect chaos and confusion to spread across the globe after millions reportedly vanished without warning, an event the dispensational theologians have long identified as the rapture taught by John Nelson Darby. Supporters of the doctrine expect that Jesus Christ will secretly remove the Church from the earth before the beginning of a seven-year tribulation period foretold in prophecy. Governments will be scrambling for explanations as economic systems falter and world leaders call for unity amid growing instability. Dispensational teachers will claim this marks the moment when God resumes His prophetic dealings with national Israel, paving the way for the rise of the Antichrist, global judgments, and ultimately the visible return of Christ to establish a literal thousand-year kingdom in Jerusalem. Flip the channel to the other news station. Pastors and reporters there will dispute the interpretation, pointing to Jesus’ words: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days… they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” — Matthew 24:29–30, and Paul’s warning: “That day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed” — 2 Thessalonians 2:3. As debate intensifies, many are turning again to the Scriptures to examine whether these things are so. Flip the channel to yet another news station and Pastors and reporters will be discussing why the rapture won’t happen for three and a half years. They are mid-tribulationalists. And Now the Weather. So, we took the approach as we should have all along. We assigned the task to our Berean Teacher, giving him the task of a investigational news report. He is required to go to the source or the narratives and to rebuild the story from the ground up. That is today's deep dive. Notes for Daniels 70 weeks [https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/35ztr4bmm65ia3hp/daniels_seventy_weeks.pdf] Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/daniels-70-weeks-debunking-darby-and-the-premillennial-rapture-theory/ [https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/daniels-70-weeks-debunking-darby-and-the-premillennial-rapture-theory/]

Rapture - It's Not What They Keep Telling You It Is!

Probably nothing is debated more among Christians than the Rapture. I was just watching a sermon by Pastor David Jeremiah, and I think even he is caught up in the systems developed to predict and explain the rapture of the church. Frankly, while I love this pastor and, like so many others, I think he gets it wrong on this issue. Full disclosure. If you follow me through this podcast, from the beginning, I present all the angles. It is really a hard question, and if you rely on Pastors and Teachers who are wedded to a particular interpretation, you're going to get that interpretation with all the hallmarks of absolute certainty. So I decided to step back from all the teaching and just assume the Berean approach to the question. What I found is a far simpler, much more consistent answer than any pre-trib, mid-trib dispensational teacher will try to convince you of. So let's take on the Rapture heading straight into the text, bypassing all the rhetoric. We are beyond the cliché raised in this discussion. You’ll hear it from every teacher on the subject. The word "rapture" is not in the Bible. Neither is the word trinity, but we get it. The concept is there even if the word is not spelled out. So moving beyond that. Is there a Rapture? This is perhaps the wrong question. The simple answer to that question is YES! It is not up for debate. What seems to be up for debate is not if, but when. Perhaps it might be better to reframe the question. One question unlocks the entire discussion: ***What happens to Christians who are still living at the time of Christ's return?*** When you ask that question, all of the answers associated with that question harmonize. No systems, no pre-tribulation, no mid-tribulation conjectures (which by the way are in the bible either!). Instead, we are told simply that if you happen to still be alive when Christ returns, you will not be forgotten. Notes for Rapture [https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/ujn7dm6njzkamfyc/What_Is_the_Rapture_Berean_Teacher_2_ajiyw.pdf] Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/rapture-its-not-what-they-keep-telling-you-it-is/ [https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/rapture-its-not-what-they-keep-telling-you-it-is/]

The UAP Disclosure - Thinking Biblically

You know, 10 years ago we would see the stories on the front page of the National Enquirer with headlines like: My Dad is an Alien. Now, the people who were once on the fringes of the News headlines are testifying to the US Congress. Americans are bracing themselves for disclosure. So far, there’s a lot of testimony, some pretty interesting videos, and random smartphone videos pepper the web. Whether real or not, it's common. I don’t think it will be long before we are presented real actual undeniable proof. This article discusses just that. You are Christians in this discussion. The article presents a way to stay centered amidst all of the possibilities. We don’t know what the nature of the disclosure will be but there is one thing one should consider. NONE of THIS removes Christ. I’m not sure how wild things are going to get but staying in Christ is perhaps the best advice we can give throughout the disclosure process. Consider that your reality and define what you are seeing with a Biblical center. Notes for Disclosure [https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/j36fqfeymb5itvzw/Disclosure_Before_Disclosure7quqp.pdf] Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/the-uap-disclosure-thinking-biblically/ [https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/the-uap-disclosure-thinking-biblically/]