Unpublishing the Early Episode
by Eric Engelmann
All content © 2024 Static Force, LLC
When Are We?
November 8, 2022. That’s less than two years ago.
Where are we?
North Texas in a coat closet turned makeshift temporary recording studio.
Why are we here now?
StaticForce, LLC is about to make an error in an episode. The episode says that there is law written on the rock at Shechem.
Some History
After Jesus rose, there was a conversation the disciples had to work hard to get right.
John 21
Verse 22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” 23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
-- John 21:22-23 (NIV)
For centuries, some disciples have been making errors quoting text. Centuries later, some of the people at StaticForce will be no exception.
The episode is titled "Simon was Renamed" and is published on November 8, 2022. The title of the episode is accurate -- Simon is renamed. He becomes "Peter".
But in other parts of that episode, we say the law is written on the rock at Shechem. A closer reading says differently. The rock at Shechem *heard* what is said on the mountains of blessings and curses, but nothing is *written* on it. The law is talked about at Shechem, but it's not written down there.
We may have assumed that some of the things done in Joshua 8 were done at Shechem instead of the top of mount Ebal. There Joshua did write the law on plaster on stones that comprised an altar.
The cause of the inaccuracy may come from trying to do too much too quickly. But there is another problem -- writers need deadlines, or they won't produce anything. At least that's the case with the writing staff at StaticForce.
In the Future
In the future, to change the pace of our episodes, we will at least temporarily lower the emphasis to summarize what the Scripture says, and drill in more to the particulars. The format of "When are we?" and "Why are we here now?" will help us focus our attention and our research to make our narrative more accurate.
Also in the future, we'll take some of our own advice, and think about what we say. As we learn more and reread the Old Testament text, we will see that we get details wrong.
Further in the future, StaticForce will choose to recall the episode and publish this retraction.
Further in the future, StaticForce will probably need more rigor around guessing who is sitting on what throne in heaven, especially in the case of Ezekiel's visions with the throne moving around.
Further in the future, may we all discover more ways that God is true even if every man is a liar. May His mercy fall on those who trust Jesus.
All content © 2024 Static Force, LLC