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Mike Rynkiewich
Reflections on Scripture, Anthropology, and Mission
I'm excited to share with you my experiences and insights about different topics related to my fields of study. Join me on this journey of exploration and discovery.
Latest posts
Women with a Story to Tell: The Plan Comes Together.
Judah is in trouble. The lineage of King David is about to be extinguished. God had promised King David that there would always be one of his descendants on the throne (I Kings 8: 25, 9:5; II Chronicles 6: 16, 7:18). If the lone descendant, Joash, is discovered and killed, then this prophecy will be difficult to fulfill. Still, we know that the Kingdom of Judah eventually fell to the Babylonian Empire and the people were taken captive in exile. Those who returned never reco
Michael Rynkiewich
1 day ago4 min read
Jeremiah 14.b. Disinformation in Ancient Judah
The English term ‘disinformation’ came into everyday use in the 1980s (though it has a longer history). Its origin seems to be with the KGB who used it to describe government-driven campaigns to spread false reports in order to mislead or confuse the people. The Germans under Hitler tended to use a similar term, ‘propaganda’, which has a more neutral understanding in the long history of the Catholic Church where it means to ‘spread’ or ‘propagate’ the Gospel. Disinformation
Michael Rynkiewich
5 days ago4 min read
Women with a Story to Tell: Jehosheba and the Queen Mother.
This is a complex story about intrigue at the seat of power. We see stories like this in novels and movies, on TV in news and shows, and in real life right before our eyes. Judah’s kings have died, first the husband Athaliah, and then their son. Athaliah was close to power in the northern kingdom of Israel because her parents were King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. They arranged a marriage to Jehoram, King Jehoshaphat’s son, in order to seal an alliance with the Kingdom of Judah.
Michael Rynkiewich
May 204 min read
Jeremiah 14.a. A Dialogue Hits a Dead End
We have established that this book preserves Jeremiah’s sermons preached over 40 years (627-586 BC). [Remember that BC means Before Christ, so the years go down instead of up.] Jeremiah’s scribe Baruch recorded these sermons and arranged them in this order. We should not expect, however, that the order is strictly chronological, although most of us would use this method. Still, think of novels or even non-fiction books that begin in the middle of a story and then use flashbac
Michael Rynkiewich
May 176 min read
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