Ignorance will no longer be an excuse for NYC residents to eat unhealthy fast foods. According to a Reuters news release:

A federal appeals court said on Tuesday that a new rule requiring New York City fast food restaurants to post calorie information on menu boards is effective immediately.

A spokeswoman for the city law department said the city expects restaurants to begin complying with the rule by midnight on Tuesday.

The health code provision, which affects businesses that have at least 15 establishments nationwide, requires that restaurants post caloric information on menus and menu boards in the same font and format used to display the name or price of the menu item.

In a lawsuit, The New York State Restaurant Association argued the rule is a violation of free speech and will make menus difficult to read.

This is a great idea! Now people will be able to see how many calories they are eating. People seemed to respond well to my Religious Literacy Quiz that I posted a few days ago, so I’m going to give you another quiz about eating healthy. Once again, I’d love to hear your score in the comments!

Healthy Eating Quiz

Grab a pencil and paper and begin! Please leave your score in the comments! I love to hear feedback!

1. Which salad has the most calories?

1. Applebee’s Southwest Cobb Salad
2. Chili’s Crispy Chicken Salad
3. McDonald’s Asian Salad with chicken

2. Out of this selection of burgers and sandwiches, which has the fewest calories?

1. Applebee’s Tango Chicken sandwich
2. Chili’s Chipotle Blue Cheese Bacon Burger
3. McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with cheese

3. Which combo has the fewest calories?

1. McDonald’s Grilled Chicken Ranch BLT with french fries
2. Two Taco Bell tacos and one beef chalupa.
3. One Taco Bell burrito and two tacos.

4. Which has the most calories?

1. Applebee’s Cajun Lime Tilapia
2. Chili’s Lettuce Wraps
3. Domino’s pepperoni pizza (2 slices of thin crust)

5. Which pizza is better for you?

1. 1 slice of Domino’s thin crust with 2-3 toppings
2. 1 slice of Domino’s deep dish with many toppings

6. Which McDonald’s menu item has the most calories?

1. Four hamburgers
2. A large chocolate shake

7. Which Starbucks menu item has fewer calories?

1. A whole milk cappuccino
2. A chai tea latte

The Results

How do you think you did? Find out below!

1. Which salad has the most calories? The answer is b, Chili’s Crispy Chicken Salad. The Chili’s Crispy Chicken Salad has 810 calories, while the Applebee’s Southwest Cobb Salad has only 440 calories. The McDonald’s salad was the leanest of the group, with only 290 calories.

2. Out of this selection of burgers and sandwiches, which has the fewest calories? The answer is a, Applebee’s Tango Chicken sandwich. The Tango Chicken Sandwich from Applebee’s is the leanest of the group with 370 calories and only 9 grams of fat. The Quarter Pounder is next with 510 calories and 25 grams of fat. The Chili’s Chipotle Blue Cheese Bacon Burger is a whopping 1090 calories and 71 grams of fat.

3. Which combo has the fewest calories? The answer is b, two Taco Bell tacos and one beef chalupa. You could eat two Taco Bell tacos and a beef chalupa for a total of 740 calories. A burrito and two tacos is 780 calories while the McDonald’s Chicken Ranch BLT and an order of french fries weighs in with 870 calories.

4. Which has the most calories? The answer is b, Chili’s Lettuce Wraps. The two slices of pizza are only 320 calories, compared to 330 calories for an order of lettuce wraps. The grilled Tilapia from Applebee’s, however, has only 310 calories. And you thought pizza was unhealthy Wait till you read the next question’s answer!

5. Which pizza is better for you? The answer is a, 1 slice of Domino’s thin crust with 2-3 toppings. The thin crust pizza blows away the other versions. At 80 calories a slice, you could have nearly 3 pieces of thin crust before you matched the 230 calories per slice in the deep dish variety. And you probably used reverse psychology and picked b, didn’t you? This time the obvious answer WAS true!

6. Which McDonald’s menu item has the most calories? The answer is b, the large chocolate shake. The shake has 1,160 calories while a hamburger contains 250 calories. Four hamburgers would still only be 1,000 calories.

7. Which Starbucks menu item has fewer calories? The answer is a, the whole milk cappuccino. The cappucine has 140 calories, compared to the chai tea latte, which contains 260 calories.

So there you have it! How did you do? Feel free to comment with your score! I certainly think it’s a great idea for NYC to have its fast food restaurants post calories on the menus!

In an article entitled Two battalions to join Darfur peace force in June from the Jerusalem Post, author Opheera McDoom writes:

About 1,600 troops will join Darfur’s U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission in June as part of plans to deploy 80 percent of the force by the end of the year, the head of the mission said on Wednesday.

Four months after assuming peacekeeping responsibilities in Sudan’s lawless west, the force has deployed only one third of its planned strength and failed to prevent attacks that are hindering the world’s largest aid operation.

“We are expecting one battalion from Ethiopia and one battalion from Egypt … in June,” Rodolphe Adada told reporters in Khartoum.

He said deployment of the peacekeeping force had been delayed because many of the African troops pledged did not have the equipment required by the United Nations and which Western nations had agreed to provide.

Hopefully once they deploy the African troops, the other troops will follow such as the Thai, Nepalese, and non-African troops. Perhaps there is some hope for Darfur… but of course it will take some time… keep praying.

A top Iranian Islamic official warned today against the “destructive” social and cultural consequences of importing Barbie dolls and other Western toys. According to a Reuters article on the subject,

Iran’s conservative clerical establishment often rails against the perceived dangers of U.S.-inspired culture and consumerism, branding it “Westoxication.”

The Des Moines Register says,

Barbie is sold wearing swimsuits and miniskirts in a society where women must wear head scarves in public and men and women are not allowed to swim together.

In 1996, the head of a government-backed children’s agency called Barbie a “Trojan horse” sneaking in Western influences such as makeup and revealing clothes.

Authorities launched a campaign of confiscating Barbies from toy shops in 2002, denouncing the un-Islamic sensibilities of the iconic American doll. But the campaign was eventually dropped.

Are Barbies really all that bad? Are they genuinely destructive to a culture’s view of women? In an article entitled Talking about positive body image is good…really believing it is hard in the Monterey County Weekly Health & Fitness section, author Brett Wilbur states:

Skinny is where it’s at. Even if it’s impossibly skinny.

As feminists who criticize Mattel, Barbie’s creator, have pointed out, Barbie’s dimensions are impossible for a real woman to mimic. She’s been estimated to have a 39-inch bust, an 18-inch waist, and 33-inch hips. (Just try squeezing one of her teeny mini skirts over her hips. And I can guarantee from the number of naked Barbies strewn about my daughter’s room: she’s stacked.) To recreate her dimensions, a 125-pound woman would have to be 7’2” tall.

Do you think this has altered female’s perceptions of how a women should look in Western culture? In an age where thousands of women silently struggle with eating disorders, self-image and self-esteem issues, is it really right to “Westoxicate” another culture?

But is it really that bad? I would argue YES. I watch my wife struggle with losing weight and the emotional roller coaster that goes along with this process, and I know that many other women are on the same ride. The Barbie doll mental image goes along with women to the beach and to the gym, where they watch themselves in a mirror while striding on an elliptical trainer, listening to other women who weigh 125 lbs make comments such as “Look at how fat I am.” Because even skinny women aren’t immune to the destructive mental image of Barbie. Remember, Barbie’s dimensions are impossible to attain.

Flip on the television at home and you are bombarded with a plethora of ridiculously skinny actresses and models — never mind the fact that one of the Olsen twins recently was undergoing treatment for a severe eating disorder. Let’s not think about that… . Shows targeting women feature “ugly” women becoming skinny with the help of personal trainers, plastic surgery, makeovers, new wardrobes — you name it.

So do I think the Iranian official’s concern over the ‘destructive’ social and cultural implications from Barbie is warranted? Absolutely.

My wife and I decided to purchase some organic groceries and lots of bananas for health purposes. Here is a fun little photo shoot with the help of Photo Shop. Yes I am trying to be ridiculous with these. Click on any photo to see it full-size!

Yes I know these are ridiculous. Just having fun!

A job posting from my friend Ed Moran with SIM (Serving In Mission):

Dear Friends,

Below is an advertisement from Grace International School in Bangladesh . The school needs a Science Teacher beginning in August. Notice that they pay airfare to and from Bangladesh and a living allowance! If you know of anyone who might be interested in this position, please pass it on to them. If you have an interest, please contact us for more information.

Blessings on you.

Ed

It’s rare to find a paid missions position these days! Here’s the ad:

Check out http://www.graceinternationalschool.org for more information.

I read a blog post today entitled, Religious People Must Become More Literate About Religion from Dr. C. Drew Smith, Ph.D.   Dr. Smith begins by saying,

In his book, Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know–And Doesn’t (2007), Stephen Prothero argues that while Americans are the most religious people in the Western World, we are perhaps the most religiously illiterate. He states, that the “private and public lives of Americans are “awash in a sea of faith.” “Unfortunately, however, Americans’ knowledge of religion runs as shallow as Americans’ commitment to religion runs deep.” While some religious and non-religious folks would respond that this really does not matter, it does matter a great deal.

Dr. Smith goes on to give three recommendations as to how to respond to this problem, which he has termed as America’s “religious illiteracy:”

1. Increase “our literacy about our own faith tradition as well as the religion of others.”
2. “… gain an appreciation of the truth value of all religions.”
3. “Finally, through education about our own faith tradition and the religious beliefs of others, we can reach a place where we can acknowledge the similarities as well as the differences between various religions.”

I deal with shallow beliefs from several people I know. A female friend of mine likes to claim that she is a Jew, yet she has no Jewish bloodline, nor has she ever set foot in a synagogue. After several discussions I’ve had with her, I doubt she has ever read more than three verses of the Old Testament. In fact, she had never heard of a Tanakh, nor the Torah. Kind of a problem….

It’s similar to Madonna and her brain-dead followers sporting red bracelets and claiming to be followers of Kabbalah, a mystical form of Judaism. Most of them fare no better than my friend above when it comes to knowledge of the Torah and other Rabbinic literature.

But I can’t only harp on others. I also need to admit my own religious prejudices and ignorance. For instance, until I recently visited a local Sikh Gurdwara and a local mosque, I held many stereotypes to be true of Indians, Arabs, and particularly Muslims. You can click on the above links to those articles if you wish to learn about the prejudices I have overcome, and continue to overcome.

I think it’s interesting how a lot of people accuse Christians of having plenty of head knowledge, but no heart knowledge. From my perspective, the opposite is true. I have a lot of church friends who claim allegiance to Jesus Christ, and yet have no clue it’s important that He is both God and man. I know many who do their best to read their Bibles daily, but just get lost in the Old Testament because they have never been taught how the “big picture” all fits together. For instance, I know many Christians who have no clue that the Messiah is a descendant of Abraham, and that Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, became the father of the nation of Israel. It’s all non-related stories to most people, including many who strive to understand. I’d venture to say that the church talks a lot more about ‘Christian living’ using modern cultural standards rather than the Word of God. This is inherently bad because cultural standards change, such as the widespread acceptance of homosexuality which Scripture clearly forbids. Without Biblical head knowledge, people are destined to be deceived by the likes of prosperity preachers and others who have traded our precious Gospel for a much more “seeker-friendly” message. At the same time, it needs to be balanced with ‘heart knowledge’ or else it is not a genuine faith.

I thought it’d be fun to do a little religious trivia. So grab a pencil and paper and begin! I’d love to hear how you did (honestly) in the comments!

Religious Knowledge Quiz

Some of these questions are from the book, Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know–And Doesn’t (2007), by Stephen Prothero.

1. Which of these is the main goal for Buddhists?

1. Enlightenment
2. 1,000 Karma ‘Points’
3. Ending social injustice
4. Nirvana with 70 virgins for eternity

2. Name the four Gospels from the New Testament Bible.

1. Matthew, Mark, Peter, James
2. Mark, John, Peter, James
3. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
4. Matthew, Luke, Thomas, Jesus

3. Name a sacred text of Hinduism.

1. The Kama Sutra
2. The Bhagavad Gita
3. The Laws of Santas Vacas
4. All of the above
5. A & B only

4. What is the name of the holy book of Islam?

1. The Bible
2. The Torah
3. Vishnu
4. The Qu’ran

5. Where, according to the Bible, was Jesus born?

1. Nazareth
2. Jerusalem
3. Bethlehem
4. Gethsemane

6. What are the two most common Christian sacraments?

1. Baptism
2. Confession and Absolution
3. Acolyte duty / Candle-lighting
4. Communion / Lord’s Supper
5. A & B only
6. A & D only
7. All of the above

7. What is the Golden Rule?

1. “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
2. “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
3. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
4. “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, and mind.”

8. Which of these is NOT one of the Ten Commandments?

1. Do not take strong drink
2. Do not commit adultery
3. Do not steal
4. Do not take the Lord’s name in vain

9. What religion celebrates Ramadan, and what is it?

1. Islam, a Muslim holiday characterized by a month of fasting
2. Hinduism, an Indian holiday similar to Christian Lent
3. Orthodox Christians, the preparation before Pascha (Easter)
4. Judaism, abstinence from intimate relations for 40 days and nights

10. The first five books of the Old Testament are called what in Judaism?

1. The Tanakh
2. The Koran
3. The Torah
4. The Deuterocanonical Texts

The Results

So how do you think you did? Find out below!

1. Which of these is the main goal for Buddhists? The answer is a, Enlightenment. The main goal for a Buddhist is to be awakened.

2. Name the four Gospels from the New Testament Bible. The answer is c; Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

3. Name a sacred text of Hinduism. The answer is e, A & B only. The Hindu texts are: Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads, Puranas, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Yoga Sutras, Laws of Manu, and Kama Sutra.

4. What is the name of the holy book of
Islam? The answer is d, the Qu’ran (or Koran).

5. Where, according to the Bible, was Jesus born? The answer is c, Bethlehem. Joseph was on his way to a census in Jerusalem when He was born. Jesus was later moved to Nazareth and spent most of His childhood there.

6. What are the two most common Christian sacraments? The answer is f, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. While Confession is one of seven recognized sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church, the main two throughout Christianity are those stated above.

7. What is the Golden Rule? The answer is c: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Mt. 7:12). The similar statement from Rabbi Hillel or Confucius, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” is not the Golden Rule.

8. Which of these is NOT one of the Ten Commandments? The answer is a, “Do not take strong drink.” The Ten Commandments nowhere mention abstinence from alcohol.

9. What religion celebrates Ramadan, and what is it? The answer is a, Islam. Ramadan is a Muslim holiday characterized by a month of fasting from sunrise to sunset each day. They also abstain from intimate relations and drinking any liquids.

10. The first five books of the Old Testament are called what in Judaism? The answer is c, the Torah. These are books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy; all of which were written by Moses.

I hope you enjoyed the quiz, and I hope you learned something new about a religion different from your own. I’d love to hear your quiz score in the comments! I challenge you not only to have deep faith and convictions, but also to be informed and have deep knowledge of your beliefs, so that you can defend them and recognize deception when it comes your way (and it will).

From the NWI Times:

Trucking company’s job fair slated for Wednesday

The city of Gary and Schneider National are hosting a job recruitment fair from 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Genesis Convention Center at Fifth Avenue and Broadway in downtown Gary.

Schneider needs to fill 350 driving jobs, company officials said. The salary is listed as $45,000. No experience is necessary, and on-the-job training will be offered.

For more information, call the Gary Employment Resource Center at (219) 882-6050.

I’m all for the right to have your own private religious (parochial) school. But I’m not for that school being able to hide under the auspices of ‘public’ education and be funded by taxpayer money. That’s precisely what is happening in Bloomington, Minnesota. According to an article in the WorldNetDaily,

Amanda Getz of Bloomington, Minn., told a columnist for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune her duties at Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy in Inver Grove Heights included taking students to the bathroom, four at a time, to perform “their ritual washing.”

Then, the teacher told columnist Katherine Kersten, “teachers led the kids into the gym, where a man dressed in white with a white cap, who had been at the school all day,” was preparing to lead prayer.

Beside him, another man “was prostrating himself in prayer on a carpet as the students entered,” the teacher said.

The Star-Tribune previously documented that the charter high school for kindergarten through eighth-grade students is named after a Muslim warlord, shares the address of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, is led by two imams, is composed almost exclusively (99 percent) of blacks and has as its top goal to preserve “our values.”

And it’s all funded by the taxpayers of Minnesota.

An article in ABC Channel 5 Eyewitness News on the same issue says:

TIZA Executive Director Azad Zaman insisted the school follows with state and federal laws.

“TIZA does not endorse any religion,” he said.

However, TIZA Academy is sponsored by Islamic Relief USA, based in California… .

…. The State Department of Education said they would conduct more site visits and write to the State Department to find out more about the school’s sponsor.

TIZA requires all students to learn Arabic as a second language English.

State law requires the school to fly an American flag during school hours, however no flag flies outside of TIZA Academy.

Zaman told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS he didn’t know how to work the flagpole.

Now imagine that two Christian ministers founded a public school and housed it in the same building as a church, and added a prominent chapel to the building. Let’s pretend all of the students are required to observe Lent and attend after-school Bible studies. And remember this would all be funded by taxpayers. Yeah, right!

I can see the ACLU lawyers swarming on a school like that. But tolerance seems to be extended to every religion EXCEPT the one that introduced the concept to America. Can we say “separation of church and state?” Just some thoughts… .

I read a news article from OneNewsNow.com about a New Mexican couple who are being represented by a Christian law firm, who will appeal a ruling by the New Mexico Human Rights Commission that has fined them for refusing to take photos of a homosexual commitment ceremony.

The article says,

“Elaine Huguenin and her husband Jon, who co-own Elane Photography in Albuquerque, New Mexico, are both Christians. So when a lesbian couple asked them to photograph their “commitment ceremony” in Taos, the Huguenins politely refused. In response, Vanessa Willock filed a complaint with the New Mexico Human Rights Commission claiming the Huguenins discriminated against her because of her “sexual orientation.” On Wednesday, the Commission found the Christian couple guilty of discrimination under state anti-discrimination laws and ordered them to pay more than $6,000 in costs… .”

…. “This decision is a stunning disregard for religious liberty and First Amendment freedoms of people of faith, of Christians, and those who believe in traditional marriage defined as one man and one woman,” says the attorney. “This shows the very disconcerting, authoritarian face of the homosexual activists, who are using these non-discrimination laws as weapons against Christians in the business world and Christians in their churches… . He added that the Commission’s decision is tantamount to the State of New Mexico forcing a vegetarian videographer to create a commercial for a butcher shop.”

I think that last analogy helps put this into perspective. How many times do I have to say this, equal rights does not mean EXTRA rights! The Huguenin’s are being represented by a Christian legal firm, and they are expected to win the case, but even still, look how these activists have twisted the first amendment. Maybe a first amendment review is in order:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Just as homosexuals have a right to have commitment ceremonies, Christians have a right to uphold the Bible and to refuse to condone such activities. It’s not like there aren’t plenty of other people who can take pictures in New Mexico… .

I am not spewing homosexual hate-speech here. If you recall from one of my previous blog posts, Ruth 1:16 and Homosexuality, I was raised in a home with a homosexual parent. I am literally watching my father die from his lifestyle. I still hang out with my dad and I love him. I simply hate his sinful lifestyle choices and what they have done to him.

It’s likely only a matter of time before pastors will be facing lawsuits for preaching against homosexuality in the pulpit under “hate crime” and “anti-discrimination” legislature, and who knows, maybe even certain scripture passages will become illegal… .

Can God forget something? Wouldn’t He then cease to be omniscient (all-knowing)? Or is there an exception to this rule? Does God truly forgive and forget our sins? Someone asked me about this recently and I finally wrote a response.

First let’s look at two passages of Scripture in Hebrews:

“‘For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.’” (Hebrews 8:10-12, ESV)

“And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,’ then he adds, ‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’” (Hebrews 10:11-17, ESV)

First of all, the passage in Hebrews 8:8b-12 is actually a direct quote from Jeremiah 31:31-34. The author of Hebrews is declaring the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophetic announcement of a new covenant, which differs from the Mosaic covenant which was in effect prior to Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. Verse 9 makes it clear that the new covenant in Christ is “not like the covenant that [God] made with their fathers.” The author of Hebrews makes this even clearer by saying in vs. 13, “In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” It is thus clear that to return to the old covenant would be to try and do something that is no longer valid nor effective.

The Greek word used for “remember” in this passage is μνησθῶ (mnestho) meaning “I remember, keep in mind, think of, recollect, to be recalled or to return to one’s mind.”² When God said, “I will remember their sins no more,” it’s as if He was saying, “I will not mention them again, I will never bring them into recollection or think of them ever again.”

In the second passage, a contrast is being made between Christ and the Levitical priesthood in vv. 11-12. The Levitical priest always stood, because his work was never finished. He daily had to sacrifice for the sins of himself and the people. In comparison, Christ offered one sacrifice for sins for all time and sat down at God’s right hand, indicating that His work is now finished and always will be – no further sacrifice is necessary. Paul confirms that we have entered into this new covenant in his letter to the Romans, where he writes in 2:15, “. . . they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts. . . .” The same verb is used in Hebrews 10:17 as in 8:12, indicating that God will not call into remembrance nor mention our sin anymore.

The Hebrew Old Testament has some insights on the subject as well:

“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” (Isaiah 43:25, ESV)

“Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your fathers.” (Jeremiah 23:39, NIV)

So does He really forget them or just choose not to think about them? Is an all-knowing God capable of forgetting anything? The Bible is full of seemingly impossible ideas for us to grasp, and this is no exception. We are told that God knows the past and the future, yet we often read that He “remembers” or “forgets” something. Is there a limit to God’s mental capacity? If God is capable of forgetting our sins against Him, does He expect us to forget others’ sins against us? Does the Bible teach us to “forgive and forget?”

To further understand what is being said, we will need to look at the Hebrew words being used in these passages, just as we examined the Greek in the passages above. Hebrew is what is called a “word-poor” language, thus most Hebrew words have a much wider scope of meaning than a similar English word can convey. In the above cases, the English usage doesn’t really fit the passages well at all, and we need the Hebraic definition in order to grasp the original intent of the text.

In English, our definition of the word "remember" focuses exclusively on the idea of recalling memories and bringing ideas to mind. To forget is to do the exact opposite – to fail to bring a certain memory to mind. Our concept is concerned entirely with mental activity and the presence or absence of information. So for us, remembering and forgetting is entirely a mental exercise.

In contrast, the Hebrew word זכר (zakar) has a much broader meaning than simply “to remember.” It includes both remembering and the actions that are taken because of remembering. It can often imply that a person did a favor for someone, helped them, or was faithful to a promise or covenant. This helps us to understand verses like the following:

“But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.” (Genesis 8:1, ESV)

“Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.” (Genesis 30:22, ESV)

If we simply understood זכר (zacar) in our English usage of the word “remember,” we would be lead to think that all of a sudden, God recalled that there was a boat floating around in the middle of the flood, and He felt that He should do something about it. But in this case, when God remembered Noah, He acted on His promise that Noah’s family and the animals would be rescued from the flood. In the second passage, God remembered Rachel by doing a favor for her, namely answering her prayer for a son. The verb is focused more on the actions of God rather than some sort of mental exercise.

Interestingly, the Hebrew words for forget, שׁכח (shakach) and נשׁה (nashah) are not exact opposites with זכר (zacar), to remember. To "forget" in Hebrew also means “to ignore, neglect, forsake, or willfully act in disregard to a person or covenant.” It is to act as if you have forgotten.¹ Frequently the Bible says, "Do not forget the Lord yo
ur God" meaning, do not forsake Him – be loyal to Him. To "forget" usually has a negative connotation close to what the American slang term "to blow off" means today. For example:

“Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you.” (Deuteronomy 4:23, ESV)

The idea is that they would willfully ignore the covenant, not necessarily forget that they made it in the first place. And in the passage discussed earlier (Jer. 23:39), when God says that He will "forget" his people, it means that He will reject them as His people, not lose their memory from His mind. When we read with an emphasis on action, rather than mental activity, it clarifies that God is not necessarily losing information from His mind. For instance:

“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1, ESV)

David is asking God, “How come you are ignoring my prayers and not intervening in my situation?” God doesn’t forget, but sometimes it might seem as though He does. Just to review, the verbs dealing with God “remembering” or “forgetting” are focused on His action, not on mental activity.

But can we demonstrate this same focus on action when it comes to remembering sins? Isn’t that the real topic at hand here? Well, of course! I’m glad you asked! The idea of "remembering sins" takes the idea of action and puts it under a negative light. It really contains the idea that God gives the person what he or she deserves for the sin – He will actually punish the sin, not just keep it on His mind. We can illustrate this Scripturally of course:

“They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah: he will remember their iniquity; he will punish their sins.” (Hosea 9:9, ESV)

To "remember iniquity" is the same as to "punish their sin." These two phrases are immediately paralleled, implying that God will intervene to bring justice. So to not remember sins would then be to decide not to punish them:

“If the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely live.” (Ezekiel 33:15, ESV)

The man who has been forgiven in the passage above will not have his sins "remembered against" him – implying that he will not be punished for them. Because the Hebrew focuses on the action rather than the thought, it doesn’t imply that God somehow has no memory of them in His infinite mind. It means that He has decided not to act upon them.

Interestingly, "forget" is almost never used in combination with sins. But the Bible does say often that God does "not remember" our sins, meaning that when He forgives, He chooses never to act on them.

The Hebraic idea of "remembering sins" really encompasses the idea of vengeance and punishment for them, not just knowing about them. When God says He will not remember our sins, He is deciding not to prosecute us for them. This can be very liberating in terms of understanding God’s expectations for us. Often we may struggle with a person who has hurt us repeatedly, and we wonder if forgiving them means pretending like they won’t hurt us again. Are we allowed to protect ourselves from being hurt again, even if we hope they’ll change? The idea that we can decide not to "remember" someone’s sins in terms of seeking revenge is very freeing, because it allows us to discern the difference between remembering with a heart of revenge, versus remembering in order to improve a situation.

Perhaps God’s infinite love really does remove our sins entirely from His infinite mind, or maybe He simply chooses not to punish us for them nor think of them. Either way, the message is the same for us: God loves you so much that He chooses not to think of your sin when He looks at you; instead He sees the perfect righteousness that has been imputed to you by His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Praise be to God! Hallelujah! Amen!

References

¹Brown, F., Driver, S. & Briggs, C. (1906). The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company.

²Thayer, Joseph H. (1896). Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.

³Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

⁴Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.