Mercer Hutchens
Hebrew for the Goyim by Pat Mercer Hutchens
Nov 10th
Click Here to View all of Pat’s Hebrew for the Goyim Articles
Everyone knows Job’s wife told him, “Curse God and die.” Right? And that the Bible says, “Thou shalt not murder – so the death penalty should be abolished.” Right? Does anyone remember hearing the allegation that all black people (Africans) were cursed because of Ham’s sin? What if you knew for sure that the Bible does not say any of these things? “Leave that to theologians,” one might say. There is just one problem. Sometimes it is theologians who teach these things, mainly because they cannot read the original languages. What if you as a layman, clergy person, housewife, truck driver, teenager, doctor or lawyer knew you could search the Bible and find answers to many of your questions without leaving your job and going to seminary. Hebrew for the Goyim is just the book for you.
First you will learn the basic origins of letters of the Hebrew alphabet, discovering most modern languages came from the same origins. You will learn that most of the letters were first a picture with a purpose, a drawing with a meaning called a “hieroglyph” (holy writing). Yes, there are codes in the Bible – in the letters. Then you will learn how letters were joined together into syllables and compound words, and how each letter affects the other. Originally everyday people knew the connection between the image and the meaning of the letter. In time these meanings were lost but in fact, each letter started as an image. After almost forty years studying Hebrew in Israel, the United States, in college and seminaries, and after combining that knowledge with the study of art theory and practice in graduate schools, this author found a gold mine which not only revolutionized personal study of the Bible, but answered any troubling questions. For the seeker with a hungry heart, there is a very exciting world waiting for you.
On our columns page we have downloadable pdf’s that have tons of great knowledge on the Hebrew language that anyone can learn from. Feel free to open or download any one of the lesson style pdf’s below! It takes just a minute to download.
The Imitation of Messiah Revisited by Pat Mercer Hutchens
Nov 8th
Click Here to View all of Pat’s Imitation of Messiah Revisited articles (to be expanded weekly)
The book, The Imitation of Christ, has been beside my bed for years. I read it time and time again and somehow never go away unblessed. The message of humility and denial of self found in this book is not unfamiliar to the ancient Hebrew Scriptures and it’s one that Jesus himself taught. I have been comforted by this book in the most difficult times of my life when our modern stance of self exertion and “I’m Okay” might appear to be more effective.
In the 1990s I started by rewriting and paraphrasing The Imitation of Christ just for myself, retitled The Imitation of Christ Revisited. As I went along, I decided I would give copies to my three children. Then a friend wanted a copy. Then another asked if she could make 100 copies for her friends, and on it went.
Let it be known that I do not wish to appear more knowledgeable or more spiritual then dear Brother Thomas A. Kempis. I simply take this jewel he wrote 500 years ago and humbly seek to cross cultures and make it not only readable, but somewhat closer to the original community where these ideas were born. Therefore, I am presenting it as The Imitation of Messiah Revisited.