Showing posts with label Earnest Martin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Earnest Martin. Show all posts

Monday, December 27, 2021

Samuel Martin: The Nativity and the Weather

 



The Nativity and the Weather

by
Samuel Martin

Before my late father began a career as a pastor and then a religious scholar, he was trained as a weather forecaster.

He learned this discipline at first in university, but later in the United States Air Force.

As a scientist training in the observation of the weather, he always took this matter into consideration when it came to his research studies dealing with the Bible.

A number of books that he wrote which he has been recognized for from an academic point of view dealing with the birth of Jesus Christ come to my mind at this time of year.

What is interesting though as far as I can remember, the only point that he mentioned concerning the matter of the weather and its relevance concerning the time Jesus was born is the following quotation from his book "The Star of Bethlehem: The Star that Astonished the World."

"Luke said that Jesus was born at a time when his parents went to Bethlehem in response to Caesar's command for a census. Ramsay showed that considerable confidence can be placed in the belief that the general time of the year for the start of a census was from August to October. The September period for Jesus' birth we are suggesting fits this well.

A late Summer or early Autumn date for Jesus' birth has also been suggested because Luke said the shepherds were tending their flocks at night at his nativity (Luke 2:8). Many have believed this precludes a wintertime birth (either early Winter on December 25th or a late Winter in early March) because it would have been too cold for the flocks to be out in the open at that time.

But this evidence is very problematic. In exceptionally cold Winters this may have been the case, but in mild Winters sheep are often out of doors in Palestine all night. Since no one knows what kind of weather there was in Palestine the year of Jesus birth (either severe or mild), this factor can be of no chronological value." (Martin, pg. 183-4)

The thing is though, in one way we do know what kind of weather there would have been in the land of Israel during this time especially if we say that Jesus was born in late December. Baly shows us the basic seasonal pattern that has existed in the Holy Land for 1,000s of years. It is important because it shows the environment that people who lived in the land would have known about very well. Because of this, the idea that Joseph and Mary would have set out on a trip to Bethlehem in December makes no sense at all in a practical sense.

“The Palestinian year is divided into two major seasons, the dry summer from mid-June to mid-September and the rainy season in the cooler half of the year. The summer drought, during which no rain falls at all, is actually somewhat longer than the true ‘summer’ and extends into the transitional seasons which dive the summer from the winter at either end. Thus, even on the coast of Cis-Jordan (Israel), the drought is usually complete for five continuous months from the middle of May to the second fortnight in October. It is better to avoid using the word “winter” for the rainy season, for winter inevitably suggests to an English-speaking person a cold season, but in Palestine, the cold weather is normally confined to the three months after Christmas, that is to the second half of the rainy season. In modern Arabic, the word “summer” is so emphatically suggestive of the long dry period (cf. Ps. 32:4, ‘My strength was dried up as the heat of summer”) that winter means more than anything else that blessed period when the rain comes. The Arabic word shittah is in fact used impartially for both “winter” and “rain” and there seems to be something of the same thought in Song of Solomon 2:11, “ For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.” (Baly, The Geography of the Bible, pg. 43)

This description by Baly is 100% correct as anyone who lives here in the land knows. Anytime after October 15, the rainy season starts and in the beginning of that season, the rains start in a sporadic way, but get into December and there is a regular occurrence of rainstorms that come systematically and after January those storms will get more intense.

As Professor Ramsay mentions, the idea the Romans would undertake a census during the rainy season moving to the middle of winter makes zero sense at all.

September though would have been a very suitable time for such a journey to take place and be completed before the beginning of the olive harvest, which was a very important annual agricultural event in ancient times as it still is today.

During September, the days are long and warm and the nights are mild and not cold at all.

Knowing the weather and the seasons of the Bible lands in a practical sense helps us better understand the stories of the Bible especially those ones we hold so dear to our hearts and minds.

Sunday, September 26, 2021

Samuel Martin: Have you always known deep down in your inner most being that spanking your children is wrong?

 


Note: One of the sick legacies of the Worldwide Church of God/Armstrongism is its teaching on spanking which was, at times, blatant child abuse. "Spare the rod and spoil the child" was the excuse that the diehard legalists and abusers used to justify the beatings they did on children. This is also the same mentality that led Rod Meredith to constantly talk about God "spanking" the world. For some reason, the church and many of its ministers took a perverse pleasure in wanting to see people and the world punished. 

Samuel Martin (son of the late Earnest Martin) has been vocal advocate on stopping this abuse. Now living Jerusalem, Israel, Martin has written several books that are widely known for their stance on the issue of spanking.

Samuel sent in the following:


Have you always known deep down in your inner most being that spanking your children is wrong?

Do you feel a connection to other Christian mothers who have said things like this concerning spanking their children?

* "I would just get an ache in my chest or a feeling" (Quotation - Lelia Schott)

* "It just felt wrong to me …"

* "I did not listen to my heart …"

* "but something just felt wrong … "

* "I have always felt an almost visceral reaction at the mention of spanking"


Have you been told: 'You are too sensitive!"

Have you felt uncomfortable in your own body based on what you know is the truth?

Have you been told never ever to listen to or trust you internal intuitive leadings?

Have you ever been told that there is something wrong with you because you feel it is wrong to hit your child?

Have you felt conflicted internally about what your inner most being is telling you compared to what you have learned from the Bible about spanking children?

If you have felt this tug of war of internal leadings compared to external information from the Bible, this new book may help answer some of the questions you may have about your internal inner most being and what is teaches you compared to the teachings of the Word of God.

What are Christian mothers saying about this book?

The reviews for this book are very humbling. Here are a few of the five star reviews from Amazon:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and difficult to put down!

Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2020

Verified Purchase

 

I am not even completely through this book but it is a page turner for sure. I am about 3/4 of the way through it. I am a mother and was intrigued to read this as I've felt from a very young age that mothers were given intuition by God to lead, guide, and care for their young. What has me floored is how much scripture actually does point to this beautiful truth that I've known to be true. The author has done a wonderful job of bringing these verses to light!

Been blessed by Samuel Martins books!

Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2020

Verified Purchase


Samuel Martin's first Thy Rod and thy Staff book was the first gentle parenting book I read and it was like a breath of fresh air. I've always felt like there was something wrong with so many Christians using scriptures to say that the Bible tells us to spank. When I came across that book everything made so much sense. Samuel Martin is very thorough and explains things from a biblical perspective in great detail. This book has been a huge blessing as well and it has made me feel more confident in following those God given instincts as a wife and mother. May God bless the Author and may God bless others with the teachings in this book!

Maternal wisdom comes from God

Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2020


This book uses an in depth look at the Hebrew roots of scripture to reveal that God really did create our intuitions to guide us. The author shares examples from the experiences of real life mothers parenting

their children following God's leading in their hearts. He also debunks the idea that we should ignore our motherly desire to protect our children and use spanking to discipline anyway. God created those maternal instincts and declared them good! As a mother, it is validating to be seen and heard. Godly discipline without spanking is not only possible, it is beautiful and it is biblical. Thank you for writing this book!


If you want to learn more about this book, check it out on Amazon:

Thy Rod and Thy Staff They Comfort Me - Book III: A Biblical Study on Maternal Intuition and its link to the Issue of Spanking Children

Praying that it blesses you. 

Samuel Martin
www.biblechild.com