I've been diagnosed with cancer

[Imwashingmypirate]

Bit of an update.

I had my oncology consultation today. Bit of good news here. They seem to have established that my type of cancer may well respond well to immunological therapy, so now the plan is to do both that an chemotherapy at the same time. Next step is to get planted with a tube to facilitate the treatments. Then the plan is to do radiation one week, chemotherapy the next. Theoretically that will help my body to adjust before the next round.

Plus, pain pills. I might actually be able to start sleeping easier now!

Sounds like a little bit of good news. Hope it all goes well. X

[tagriffy]

I have not. Can you tell me what it is about?

I’m not even sure I can articulate it very well, and don’t feel like any of the descriptions I read online do a thorough job either. I feel like a person just needs to read it. I’ll give it a try, however.

IIUC, per Heiser, much of our understanding of the Bible is filtered through the lens of our traditions, presumptions, creeds, confessions, denominational preferences, and training to think that the history of Christianity is the true context of the Bible. Heiser asserts that “the proper context for interpreting the Bible is the context of the biblical writers.” In other words, the author’s goal is to help readers understand how biblical writers thought, as men who lived in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean between the second millennium BC and the first century AD— a supernatural worldview.

In the book, he tackles those weird, difficult to understand passages that we tend to brush aside. The book starts out, as did Heiser’s watershed moment, with an examination of Psalm 82 [in Hebrew]. In the book, he discusses God’s disinheritance of the nations and allotment of the nations to these fallen elohim, how evil proliferated on the earth, the hierarchy and jurisdictions of the elohim. Israel’s as God’s own portion. I could go on.

I’m really tired, and it’s getting late. Basically viewing the Bible through the culture and times of the biblical writers. The book is so packed full of peer reviewed research, and Heiser’s 15 years of compiling the data.

I’d be happy to gift you with a copy, Tim, if you’d like to read it. I think everyone should read it. If not, there are podcasts online as well. The author is right, that readers should come away with viewing scripture through an ancient mindset.

It’s hard to summarize a nearly 400 page book that is so packed full. It is a fascinating read. I’d love to have a book discussion about the book with others.

I would be very interested in this. Your description tracks well with my own thinking on the subject, and the work will help me with specific examples that I can use. PM me so we can arrange getting it?

[msnobody]

I’m not even sure I can articulate it very well, and don’t feel like any of the descriptions I read online do a thorough job either. I feel like a person just needs to read it. I’ll give it a try, however.

IIUC, per Heiser, much of our understanding of the Bible is filtered through the lens of our traditions, presumptions, creeds, confessions, denominational preferences, and training to think that the history of Christianity is the true context of the Bible. Heiser asserts that “the proper context for interpreting the Bible is the context of the biblical writers.” In other words, the author’s goal is to help readers understand how biblical writers thought, as men who lived in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean between the second millennium BC and the first century AD— a supernatural worldview.

In the book, he tackles those weird, difficult to understand passages that we tend to brush aside. The book starts out, as did Heiser’s watershed moment, with an examination of Psalm 82 [in Hebrew]. In the book, he discusses God’s disinheritance of the nations and allotment of the nations to these fallen elohim, how evil proliferated on the earth, the hierarchy and jurisdictions of the elohim. Israel’s as God’s own portion. I could go on.

I’m really tired, and it’s getting late. Basically viewing the Bible through the culture and times of the biblical writers. The book is so packed full of peer reviewed research, and Heiser’s 15 years of compiling the data.

I’d be happy to gift you with a copy, Tim, if you’d like to read it. I think everyone should read it. If not, there are podcasts online as well. The author is right, that readers should come away with viewing scripture through an ancient mindset.

It’s hard to summarize a nearly 400 page book that is so packed full. It is a fascinating read. I’d love to have a book discussion about the book with others.

I would be very interested in this. Your description tracks well with my own thinking on the subject, and the work will help me with specific examples that I can use. PM me so we can arrange getting it?

Done

[Jersey Girl]

Tim, I want to discuss/ask questions about your thoughts on Israel and its accounts. Is it okay with you if I copy/paste some of the paragraphs here for discussion or not okay? I don't know exactly what your boundaries are regarding blog v. message board and I don't want to assume and inadvertently take control away from you.

[Jersey Girl]

Bit of an update.

I had my oncology consultation today. Bit of good news here. They seem to have established that my type of cancer may well respond well to immunological therapy, so now the plan is to do both that an chemotherapy at the same time. Next step is to get planted with a tube to facilitate the treatments. Then the plan is to do radiation one week, chemotherapy the next. Theoretically that will help my body to adjust before the next round.

Plus, pain pills. I might actually be able to start sleeping easier now!

Ah I'm glad to hear you've got a working schedule for your treatment plan. It does seem to make sense. I know of other treatments where docs alternate methods like that. I hope you and your team can stay on top of pain management. Restorative sleep is important to everyone but I think it must be even more important to you as you go into warrior mode.

Prayers up for you, Tim.

[Jersey Girl]

You doing okay over there,Tim? Did you go full on warrior? Thinking of you...

[tagriffy]

Tim, I want to discuss/ask questions about your thoughts on Israel and its accounts. Is it okay with you if I copy/paste some of the paragraphs here for discussion or not okay? I don't know exactly what your boundaries are regarding blog v. message board and I don't want to assume and inadvertently take control away from you.

Basically, go with whatever works best for you. I'm keeping my eye on both forums, with the basic idea that when I post to the blog I put a notice here. I don't know what my own boundaries are yet, so that is something worth exploring all by itself.

[tagriffy]

Wound up in the emergency room Sunday for what ultimately turned out to be a collapsed lung. The treatment for that is going pretty well, but it is delaying everything else when it comes to treating the cancer. A case of one step forward and two steps back. I'll be in the hospital until at least Monday. I have my laptop but most of my material is at home, so many of my posts both here and on the blog are necessarily off the cuff. Keep asking the questions though. The will help me clarify my thoughts and give good presentations.

[Jersey Girl]

Wound up in the emergency room Sunday for what ultimately turned out to be a collapsed lung. The treatment for that is going pretty well, but it is delaying everything else when it comes to treating the cancer. A case of one step forward and two steps back. I'll be in the hospital until at least Monday. I have my laptop but most of my material is at home, so many of my posts both here and on the blog are necessarily off the cuff. Keep asking the questions though. The will help me clarify my thoughts and give good presentations.

Oh geez, Tim. I figured something was up. I'll follow what you said to me here. Continued prayers.

[Jersey Girl]

Hello Tim,

I'm just going to start with this because it's the one thing that's weighed heavy on my mind ever since I read it and I think the rest of what I want to address can wait. Please bear with me and my questioning because I need to get in your head if I can. If I can get on your path of thinking, I think I can learn to walk it with you. See where it goes and if it helps you.

For this reason, I have no reasonable expectation that God will miraculously cure my cancer, and I'm not going to bother asking him to do so. I am simply not that important in the overall scheme of things and I certainly don't want God to wind up destroying life, the universe, and everything on my account. But if God is so constrained that he cannot help me with my illness, what can he do? Immanuel--God is with us. I have been thinking along these lines since I read Roberts some twenty-five years or so ago. But here, today, knowing what my likely fate is going to be, it is a thought that has become especially comforting.

I want to ask you two questions before talking in a bit more detail about the above.

1. Do you believe that God created you?
2. If so, what do you think His reason was for creating you?