The Amos Project

In-depth biblical research and exegesis on the book of Amos, a minor prophet. Amos uniquely portrays Adonai as vengeful and the root cause of human suffering.

The Amos Project: Set Apart for Punishment

There are three easily identifiable sections in the book of Amos: the first being the oracles against the nations, the second marked as a critique of Israel, and the third section comprised of visions. In the second section, spanning chapters 3-6, we find the harshest portrayal of Israel in the entire Bible. I find this…
The Amos Project: Judgment Day is Coming

The end is near, everyone! Judgment Day is coming! How many times have we heard this? Evangelicals possess a romantic infatuation with the end times. The God of Creation is going to come and judge the “quick and the dead,” as many creeds proclaim. Everything that stands in opposition to the church, deemed evil for…
The Amos Project: Social Justice in the Bible

While researching social justice in the Bible as it concerns Amos, I came across numerous Christian blogs, news articles, and devotionals attacking social justice advocacy as a brand of “wokeism.” It does not surprise me in the least. Evangelicals see that people who think and believe differently pursue justice. “But it isn’t biblical!” they whine.…
The Amos Project: A Wake Up Call for America

Evangelicals love the United States of America. To them, it is the greatest nation in the world (or equal with Israel). After all, it is “one nation under God.” Money is printed with the lettering “In God we trust.” All the great presidents were Christians. America is the home of Martin Luther King, Jr., Billy…
The Amos Project: Additions to the Text and Legalism

“You cannot be a Christian and not go to church!” “You cannot be Christian and be attracted to the same sex!” “You cannot be a Christian if you do not rigorously uphold the select laws, we think God wanted to keep intact!” Easily the first thing to drive me out of the church is the…
The Amos Project: What Should We Do? A Call to Action

This post is intended to serve as a direct follow-up to my previous post, “Suffering Carried Out by Human Evil.” We examined the root cause of suffering in the Oracles Against the Nations; that is, human evil. We compared their atrocious crimes with a frontrunning contemporary example, the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. Humans are capable of…
The Amos Project: Why Amos? A Reflection

Why have I chosen Amos as the first project at Living by the Logos? To be fair, I started my in-depth study of Amos before posting to Living by the Logos. The reason I decided to dedicate this work to the book of Amos is fairly straightforward: the book tells us what the church glosses…
The Amos Project: Oracles of Crime and Punishment

What must one do to deserve God’s judgment and wrath? I can almost guarantee you answer this question, “Well, sin, of course.” Let’s assume someone stole five dollars from you yesterday. What will happen to that person? My mother always said, “Your sin will find you out.” A chill runs down my spine hearing those…
The Amos Project: An Introduction to the Prophet of Doom

As Living by the Logos holds, the problem of suffering is addressed in every book of the traditional canon of the Bible. The prophets, major and minor, are certainly no exception. The first work I would like to consider is the book of Amos. Amos is placed between the books of Joel and Obadiah, and…