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The following is an interview with Thom Stark, a scholar of ancient and modern religious texts. Stark is currently an M.A.R. student at Emmanuel School of Religion in Johnson City, Tenn. His first book, released in October, is called The Human Faces of God: What Scripture Reveals When It Gets God Wrong (and Why Inerrancy Tries To Hide It). In chapters 4 and 5, Mr. Stark systematically lays out evidence that polytheism and human sacrifice were practiced widely as a part of early Yahweh worship.I have to start with a question that may sound rude. Most people would expect that someone writing about human sacrifice and polytheism in the Bible would be an atheist or agnostic. And yet you describe yourself as a very committed Christian. Help me put the pieces together.
Well, I hail from the Stone-Campbell tradition, an anti-creedal protestant movement that is committed to discovering what the Bible says, even if what the Bible says contradicts what orthodox Christianity has historically said. That commitment to the Bible over the creeds is what underwrote my biblical studies, and ironically is what made it possible for me to come to the realization that the Bible isn't inerrant, and that what "it says" often depends on which book in the Bible you're reading.
Many are understandably claiming that this geostrategically pivotal confrontation was precisely what Trump was installed to facilitate all along. The largest donor to any campaign in 2016 was oligarch Sheldon Adelson, who gave $25 million to the Trump campaign, and who in 2013 said that the US should drop a nuclear bomb on Iran. After Trump's election win, Adelson gave another $5 million to his inauguration, the largest single presidential inaugural donation ever made. Newt Gingrich, another of the billionaire's hired politicians, has said that Adelson's "central value" is Israel.
Kevin Spacey's sexual assault case dropped by prosecutors due to accuser's 'unavailability'For how much longer is this going to continue? By now, over 30 people have accused him. 4 down, 26 to go?
Comment: Does it look like these Iraqis are "dancing in the streets" for freedom, "thankful that General Soleimani is no more"? That's what Pompeo would have the world think.
Either he's a liar, or such an idiot that he believes his own propaganda: Here was the scene in Tehran today:
And in Kashmir: In case there's any doubt just how allied Iraq and Iran are, here's the Iraqi PM side-by-side with the new commander of the Iraqi PMU:
The US can send another million troops to Iraq if it wants, but it has already lost the battle for hearts and minds.
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