I write books and make videos about the Bible and theology. CEO of @PronomianLLC. Buy my books: https://xitter.cf/t.co/TrFgiMYTXj
Joined May 2008
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David Wilber retweeted
Christian Nationalism appears to be rudderless.
I suspect the reason is that they don't have clear directions and mandates from Scripture at the very core of their movement. In the absence of such clear guidance they are subject to the blowing of the wind, the trends of the time, and forced to appeal to niche online group-think (niches that are often syphoned off of the cults of personality of godless influencers).
This is not my opinion of every Christian Nationalist but of the trends in the movement that I see represented by vocal members on X.
David Wilber retweeted
OCTOBER 7, 2023: SHE KNEW SHE WAS GOING TO DIE.
Libi Cohen-Meguri, a 22-year-old infantry officer, went to the Nova music festival.
She was shot while fleeing the party. At 8:11 a.m., she called her parents and said:
“I’ve been shot in the stomach, I’ve been shot in the arm, I’m losing blood. I’m going to die.”
Calmly, quietly, she understood; these were the last minutes of her life.
She asked her parents to call Tomer, her twin brother, and Maya, her little sister, and said:
“I’m going to die. I just want you to listen to me.
I love you, Yariv. You’re the best father I could have asked for.
Mom, stop screaming. Just listen to me. You are the best mother we could have ever had. Don’t forget to be a good mother to Tomer and Maya after I die.
Tomer, how lucky we were to live this life together. I love you.
My Maya, never forget—you are the treasure of my life.”
When she finished speaking, her parents told her to get out of the car, lie down on the road, and pretend to be dead.
With her last bit of strength, she got out of the car and laid down on the road.
“Mom, they’re coming to shoot me again,” Libi said after lying down.
While her mother listened on the phone, shouts in Arabic could be heard, and then a barrage of gunfire.
It didn’t stop.
It kept going, until the call was disconnected.
And that’s how Libi died—with demonic beasts from the pit of hell standing over her and emptying a full magazine into her body.
Libi died with LOVE on her lips: love for life, love for her family, and love for her people.
Her memory will forever be a blessing.
NEVER FORGET.
NEVER FORGIVE.
NEVER AGAIN IS NOW.
Israel is hunting down every single Palestinian and Hamas terrorist who participated in the October 7th Massacre—to kill them all.
They’re living on “borrowed time,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Sooner or later, every one of these monsters will be found and eliminated.
David Wilber retweeted
There is no genocide in Gaza. The people are not the target. Hamas is the target.
There would be no destruction in Gaza if not for October 7, and there would be far fewer casualties if Hamas terrorists fought like men, instead of starting a war by gunning down civilians and then hiding behind their own like cowards.
And it would have ended a long time ago had they cared about the cost of their refusal to release the hostages and surrender. But they don't care. They care far less about their own children than Israel does, which is why they have children carry their weapons through the streets, knowing Israel will abort their strikes when children are in view.
David Wilber retweeted
I’ve noticed some lazy Christians saying, “We’re called to love Israelis and Palestinians,” when they want to shut down the debate.
Of course we are. That was never in question.
That doesn’t mean we’re supposed to abdicate all moral responsibility for judging right vs. wrong.
David Wilber retweeted
I have supported Israel for a long time.
After thinking about my position for a while, I have come to a clear conclusion:
I still support Israel and probably always will.
My reasons are many, including:
1. I have been to Israel twice and have met numerous Israelis. The people of Israel are the most wonderful, kindest, most joyful people I have encountered.
2. I have extensively talked to both Israelis and Palestinians. Israelis want nothing more than peace. The other side not so much.
3. Israel is the safest and best place for Christians in the Middle East. Christians are thriving and the majority of them are happy with life. Being against the one nation were Christians are safe would be very stupid. Israel treats minorities exceptionally well.
4. Israel was brutally attacked by terrorists many times, despite their repeated (and in my opinion excessive) attempts to make peace by giving hostile countries and populations land to live on and many more compromises. The final attack on October 7 crossed all lines and taught Israel the lesson that you can never placate Islamic terrorists. I have seen more footage from October 7 than most Israelis have and I will never forget the gruesome acts of vile barbarism inflicted on innocent people, with the approval and celebration of most of the Palestinian population. I would support any nation fighting back until the end after such atrocities that are incomprehensible to sensible human beings.
5. Israel is fighting my enemy and your enemy if you are not an Islamist. Israel is fighting Islamists whose goal it is to dominate the Middle East and restart the caliphate. Islamists want to subjugate most of us and outright kill many of us including me. Israel is therefore a natural ally and I am happy to support them against the great evil in this world.
6. I have actually deeply studied the history of Israel, especially the 19th and 20th centuries. Only one side has consistently tried to build a peaceful future for all and that is Israel. "Palestine" is a late invention to fight and eradicate Israel. It should never be allowed. Had the Palestinian Arabs agreed to peace in the 1920s, 1940s, 1960s, 1980s, 1990s, or even possibly in the 2000s, we wouldn't be in this situation.
7. While I strongly disagree with Judaism and Jews may strongly disagree with my beliefs, I also value Judaism and Jewish beliefs and values which are mostly in line with Christian beliefs and values. The Apostle Paul had a very special love for his fellow Jewish people, even if they rejected his belief in Christ. He also told us that God loves them for their patriarchs and never revokes his gifts and callling. (Romans 11:28-32)
8. Israel built a beautiful nation that is unlike any other in the region.
9. The struggle and resilience of the Jewish people and their regathering and revival of their culture is unlike anything seen in human history, and I appreciate and love it.
10. I just want to. I don't care how many people jumped on the anti-Israel trend.
David Wilber retweeted
I agree with Conan. Paul remains a Jew after coming to faith in Christ. See Romans 11:1; 2 Corinthians 11:22.
David Wilber retweeted
Here it is! So grateful to be able to tell you that my new book is now available! Check it out at a.co/d/0f9UMSOr
David Wilber retweeted
Reposting this from Beit Immanuel in Israel:
Christians Were Keeping the Jewish Festivals in the Fourth Century
One of the most fascinating witnesses to ancient Christians observing Jewish practices comes from an unlikely source: John Chrysostom.
Around 386–387 CE, while serving as a priest in Antioch, Chrysostom delivered a series of nasty sermons commonly called the Eight Homilies Against the Jews. Why was he so angry? Because Christians in his community were observing Jewish festivals.
Chrysostom writes:
“The festivals of the...Jews are soon to march upon us one after the other and in quick succession: the feast of Trumpets, the feast of Tabernacles, the fasts.”
—John Chrysostom, Against the Jews, Homily 1.1
He then explains that Christians themselves were participating:
“Some of these are going to watch the festivals and others will join the Jews in keeping their feasts and observing their fasts.” —Against the Jews, Homily 1.1
The “Feast of Trumpets” is the biblical Yom Teruah, later known as Rosh Hashanah. The great fast of this season is Yom Kippur, followed five days later by Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles.
His next sermon makes the Yom Kippur connection especially clear:
“Their … fast will begin after five days.” —Against the Jews, Homily II.1
Chrysostom was preaching five days before the fast and urgently trying to prevent Christians from observing it.
Later he warns his congregation against going to the synagogue for the Trumpets, participating in Jewish fasting, or observing the Sabbath:
“If any of you … shall go to the spectacle of the Trumpets, or rush off to the synagogue … or take part in fasting, or share in the Sabbath, or observe any other Jewish ritual great or small…” —Against the Jews, Homily VIII.8
Consider what Chrysostom has inadvertently preserved for us.
This is Antioch in the late fourth century, more than three centuries after Yeshua and the apostles. Jewish observance among Christians was sufficiently common that a major Christian preacher devoted repeated sermons to stopping it.
Chrysostom's hostility toward Judaism is disturbing, but that hostility makes his testimony historically valuable.
The separation between Judaism and Christianity was neither instantaneous nor clean.
Even in the late fourth century, Christians in Antioch were still participating in Jewish sacred times—including the Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur fasting, Sukkot, and Shabbat.
We know this because one of Christianity's most famous ancient preachers stood in his pulpit and demanded that they stop. It seems some refused to listen.
David Wilber retweeted
The longer I'm in ministry the more I learn my confidence in my Christian beliefs is tested by how I interact with someone I disagree with.
If I'm truly secure with what I believe, I shouldn't have to belittle, mock, or mistreat someone in order to defend it.
David Wilber retweeted
Do I seek to keep the Laws Of Moses as a believer in the New Covenant?
Absolutely!
In fact, He wrote them on my heart!
Jeremiah 31:33:
"But this is the [new] covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My Torah within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."
David Wilber retweeted
I’m honestly depressed that we’re going to be subjected to another cycle of this macabre madness. I hate what our culture is turning into.
I hate that people can just disregard the agony and terror of three beautiful little children as if they’re background characters in a movie.
I hate the unapologetic sadism of those who obsess over every grisly detail of their traumatic deaths and their father’s cries.
I hate the whitewashing of evil and the justification of murder, as if there’s any excuse for methodically strangling three precious little kids, including a baby, no matter how depressed or delusional you are.
I hate the cannibalistic way podcasters and the media make money off the blood of children.
I hate the way her parents have raised over $1 million off the deaths of their grandbabies.
It makes me physically nauseous.
There is a terrible darkness washing through our culture, and I’m not sure we can ever recover from it.
David Wilber retweeted
What starts as "ministry" can far too easily turn into "power grab."
Test your hearts, men.
David Wilber retweeted
What language did Jesus speak? Most people assume Aramaic.
It is true that the gospels contain several statements where Jesus speaks Aramaic. Such as when He raises Jairus’s daughter from the dead and tells her, “talitha cumi.”
It’s also true that Aramaic had been growing in popularity leading up to the first century when Jesus walked the earth. So it makes sense that He would have spoken Aramaic.
But there’s a crucial false assumption here.
As modern English speakers, we live in a mono-lingual society. And it’s easy to project that reality onto past cultures. But most societies throughout history have been multi-lingual - including Judea in Jesus’ day.
So the question is not what language Jesus spoke, but which languages and when.
There’s good evidence that Jesus spoke both Greek and Hebrew as well as Aramaic and that He used these languages in different contexts throughout His ministry.
Jesus grew up in Nazareth, which was near the capital of the Galilee region: Sepphoris. This city was a hub of commerce - which meant it was heavily Greek influenced. Jesus likely would have visited the city with His father and learned to speak Greek there.
Of Jesus’ conversations in the gospels, at least two were likely in Greek. First, Jesus likely spoke Greek with the Roman centurion whose servant He healed, as Greek was the lingua franca, and it is unlikely the centurion knew Aramaic.
For several reasons, it is also very likely that Jesus spoke Greek with Nicodemus. First, the name Nicodemus is Greek. Second, Nicodemus was an upper-class Jew, making it likely that he spoke Greek on a regular basis. And third, the nuances of their conversation suggest that it was originally in Greek.
So Jesus almost certainly spoke Greek.
It is also likely that He spoke Hebrew and used it regularly in His ministry. Documents like the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Bar Kokhba letters, and the Mishnah attest that Hebrew was spoken for religious teaching and everyday use well into the second century AD.
It is probable that Jesus would have taught His fellow Jews in Hebrew, and we find evidence of this in the details of the Sermon on the Mount and other teachings.
Bottom line: as moderns, we tend to assume Jesus would have primarily spoken one language. But most of the world for most of history has been multi-lingual. And 1st century Galilee was no different.
Jesus almost certainly spoke Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic - and He used them on different occasions for different purposes depending on who He was speaking to.
David Wilber retweeted
Judeo-Christian: In his first letter to Corinth, Paul appeals to 2nd Temple Judaism to argue that Christians should materially support its leaders:
1. He appeals to Deuteronomy 25, the commandment against muzzling an ox while it's working the fields.
2. He appeals to the Levitical priesthood in the Temple in Jerusalem, how the priests eat food sacrificed to God.
Paul bases Christian theology on the Torah's directives for Israel's Temple worship.
David Wilber retweeted
The presumption that "I, the interpreter, am more likely to be misunderstanding a classic author I find uncompelling than that the classic author was an idiot" is one of the most important methodological starting points to take as a critic.
David Wilber retweeted
It seems the only steadfast conviction these men have now is their hatred of the Jews and Israel. Nearly everything else is malleable.
Here you are singing the praises of a female pastor and prosperity preacher, Paula White. Did you pay the $1,000 she was asking for in exchange for a “special Passover blessing?” Just wondering!
I get it - a podcaster affirming that Jesus was Jewish and that all people, Jew and Gentile, must go to Him for salvation is just too far for you.
You’re a shapeshifter, Calvin. Unmoored and unreliable. The faithful deserve better from their clergy.