Midwife in Israel: Rahab’s Story

Written By John Pople

“When Rahab ties the scarlet cord on Jericho, her destiny – and that of her city – is sealed. Israel breaks out against their brethren, and takes the land. The Promised Land has been entered in earnest, and God’s Kingdom is born on Earth. A Kingdom dedicated to Heavenly principles and practices, yet which is owned and populated entirely by humans. This Kingdom will fail, and fall, but in so doing will provide the necessary education that we can only be saved by grace through faith, just as Rahab was (Jam 2:25).”

John Pople

I am a physicist working at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource in California, and a Christian who has demonstrated (at least to myself) that the Bible is a source of wisdom beyond human authorship. I’ve always been fascinated by the unknown, especially in physics, theology and philosophy, and greatly enjoy the rich sense of wonder I experience when at work and at play in those worlds. How does light interact with matter at its most basic level? What are the limitations for a human mind studying itself? How can the ancient story of God’s treatment of Job be embraced? These sorts of questions.

As a consequence, in the arena of the Bible exposition, I’m most strongly drawn towards age-old, unsolved mysteries and longstanding perceived injustices. What is the Song of Songs actually saying? Why does the Bible approve of the warrior Jephthah if he really did sacrifice his daughter? Why is John’s gospel so strikingly different from the other three? Some of the discoveries I found most enjoyable can be found in published form here: johnpople.com

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