Online Bible Institute | Noel Card | Activity

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 16:54:43 -0400

Great post! The practice of deliberately under-describing details allows the Biblical stories and characters to have relevance for readers across time and cultures – as you wrote, “it forces us to participate”. It is so fun to catch glimpses of the divine genius behind the Bible.

In reply to - Leah posted an update

This session on Characterization & Setting higlights that Biblical narravite tells stories of people with minimal details often, so that we will fill in, so that we take our time and […]

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 16:48:58 -0400

Very good post! This course is wonderful in teaching us to read slowly, contemplating the meanings (plural) of the words of scripture. As you mentioned, habits of ritual can lead us into the trap of superficial rather than deeper understanding.

In reply to - Lerata Mokoteli posted an update

Bringing all the pieces together, Dr. Mackie demonstrates that the Bible is a collection of texts penned by different authors from vastly different backgrounds, contexts, and […]

Noel Card posted an update: This third session picked up on the meanings […]

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 16:44:55 -0400

This third session picked up on the meanings of “heaven(s)” and “earth” as God’s space and human’s space. Dr. Mackie drew an amazing visual image – of these two circles coming together and overlapping in Jesus – then citing New Testament scripture stating exactly this image. Once again, I am amazed at the new depth of understanding…

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 21:55:58 -0400

Very good post, R.C.! You made great points. I agree that we can gain much by reading the Bible in different ways, and understanding the ways of reading taught in this course allows us to experience a new way of receiving the message.

In reply to - R.C. posted an update

The message of biblical texts is deeply connected to their literary form, with form itself being an integral part of the message. Like biblical poetry, biblical narrative is carefully […]

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 21:52:54 -0400

Congratulations Kevin!! I think that the more we learn through these courses, the more we love to learn more. Yes, OBI is a blessing.

In reply to - Kevin posted an update

Just finished up my 1st class for the Associates program and I’m so excited to continue on. Thank God for OBI. 😇

Noel Card posted an update: In this session, Dr. Mackie read several passages of […]

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 21:49:01 -0400

In this session, Dr. Mackie read several passages of Hebrew Bible scripture in which the words “heaven” or “heavens”, “earth”, and “water” or “waters” were used. In each passage, there seems to be a different interpretation or meaning to these words. For example, the “heavens” might refer to the physical sky above us (e.g., Psalm 24:1-2),…

Noel Card posted an update: In this first session, Dr. Mackie began by sharing […]

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 14:58:27 -0400

In this first session, Dr. Mackie began by sharing his childhood fascination with space. He showed several images, moving from a view of earth from space, the solar system, the milky way galaxy, then the Hubble deep field image showing hundreds of galaxies in a minuscule area of space where it seems nothing exists. The students in the…

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 19:30:21 -0400

When we learn to appreciate the artistry of the Old Testament, it becomes more and more evident that God is the lead author.

In reply to - Leah posted an update

For me, this session about repetition in Hebrew poetry answers the question I’ve always had but never really articulated – WHY was the Old Testament written in poetic form? I’ve never […]

Noel Card posted an update: The final session of this class on the Hebrew […]

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 19:28:16 -0400

The final session of this class on the Hebrew Bible describes how the overarching photomosaic of the Old Testament creates a silhouette of Christ. The Gospels of the New Testament then ‘turn up the lights’ to allow us to clearly see Jesus as the silhouette created by the Hebrew Bible.

About half of the time of this session involved the…

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 17:42:35 -0400

Yes, slowing down to appreciate the depth of the Bible is well worth the time. I have done many bible-in-a-year readings; while there is value in those also, this class is definitely teaching how much more we can gain through slow, careful contemplation.

In reply to - Leah posted an update

I loved listening to Tim read verses in the original Hebrew! Hearing it in the original language, with the cadence of the poetry as it was originally meant, was exciting! It’s […]

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 17:34:12 -0400

Well said, Jeff. Isaiah 1:18 is a beautiful expression of God’s mercy!

In reply to - Jeff Jacinto posted an update

Robert Alter rightly observes that when God speaks through the prophets, He almost always speaks in poetry. The beauty, emotion, and depth of poetic language allow God’s message […]

Noel Card posted an update: The session continued the idea of using words and phrases […]

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 17:32:15 -0400

The session continued the idea of using words and phrases to draw links between narratives of the Bible, here making more distant connections of the Jacob subplot to earlier chapters in Genesis. Rather than analyzing just one or two word phrases linking portions of the narrative together, the instructor points out many connections. Genesis…

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 21:02:34 -0400

One workaround is:

(1) Go the the search (magnifying glass image) at the top of the page, and type part of your course name.

(2) Click the “courses” tab of all the matches.

(3) Click your course to access.

It is not as convenient as accessing from the student dashboard, but it is workable until changes are made. Thanks to all of the OBI folks…

In reply to - Frank Bertinchamps posted an update

Unfortunately I don’t like the site ” improvements” so it looks like I will not be finishing my schooling.

The courses are no longer user friendly as I can not figure out how […]

Noel Card posted an update: This session continued focusing on repeated words […]

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 20:48:46 -0400

This session continued focusing on repeated words and phrases in Genesis, here noting links within Genesis 12 (beginning of Abram / Abraham subplot). The first linkage is to Genesis 11 (makers of tower of Babel desiring to make a name for themselves) and part of the Abraham covenant (God will “make your name great” Genesis 12:2). The…

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 20:45:09 -0400

@kevinlisboa Hi Kevin, You ask a good question. My brief answer is that I don’t know yet. Dr. Mackie’s statement that Elohim (which can refer to God, polytheistic gods, or other spiritual beings) appears infrequently supports that his interpretation is correct. My next step down this path would be to use something like Logos software… Read more

In reply to - Noel Card posted an update

This session continued focusing on repeated words and phrases through Genesis 6 (beginning of the flood narrative). Here, Dr. Mackie continues to point out repetition of the […]

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 17:14:45 -0400

I liked your post. This is the next class I will take, and your description makes me look forward to it!

In reply to - R.C. posted an update

Our understanding of the universe, its origin, and our place within it deeply influences how we interpret the Bible. Whether consciously or not, these foundational views shape our reading […]

Noel Card posted an update: This session continued focusing on repeated words […]

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 17:10:22 -0400

This session continued focusing on repeated words and phrases through Genesis 6 (beginning of the flood narrative). Here, Dr. Mackie continues to point out repetition of the words “saw” and “good” to argue that Genesis 6 continues in the same pattern: here the sons of God saw the daughters of humanity as good. An interesting aside was Dr.…

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 18:22:52 -0400

Very good post. This sounds like a great class.

In reply to - sheep posted an update

It is taught in this chapter that prayer is not as a monologue of requests, but as a two way conversation that involves listening as much as talking. When you pray, expect God to speak […]

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 18:21:37 -0400

Good post Jeff. Learning the Joshua and Jesus are names derived from Yeshua is enlightening.

In reply to - Jeff Jacinto posted an update The literary seams of the TaNaK reveal Israel’s expectation of a prophet like Moses (Deut. 34:10–12). Although Joshua succeeded Moses, he was only Moses’ faithful successor, not the […]

Noel Card posted an update: This session continued talking about repeated words […]

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 18:18:58 -0400

This session continued talking about repeated words and phrases, focusing on lead words (leitwort in German; session 23) as words or word-roots that a repeated in order to give a structure to the text. Here, the focus was on the word “good” (Hebrew “tov”) in the early parts of Genesis. In Genesis 1, God saw aspects of His creation as…

Noel Card posted an update: This session continued talking about repeated words […]

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 18:01:23 -0400

This session continued talking about repeated words and phrases, and how this creates patterns of design. In this session, the instructor analyzed the story of Elisha having a widow gather vessels to pay a debt, pointing out a pattern of A, B, C, C, B, A caused by the repeated phrases. He also analyzed Genesis 39 as an example of a much…

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 17:37:23 -0400

Wonderful post! I agree entirely both about the changing of important traditions (sports over Biblical education) and how studying the Bible is a “the more we put in, the more we get out” situation.

In reply to - Leah posted an update

My first observation is that the more we study the Bible in depth and in full context, the more we WANT to study!! I’m also understanding why the Jewish people send their kids to […]

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 17:32:38 -0400

Great summary. Definitely looking forward to this session!

In reply to - Shadrack posted an update

The lesson explained how the cycle of “seeing, taking, and giving” described in Genesis 3 is repeated throughout the rest of the Hebrew Bible, even when it comes to the story of […]

Noel Card posted an update: The session focused on repeated words (or word […]

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 17:29:01 -0400

The session focused on repeated words (or word roots), comparing them to the “thread” that holds the “quilt” of the Bible together (the quilt analogy was from session 11). By repeating these words or word roots, the authors invite the reader to draw connections between ideas. The instructor quotes work by Buber that compares the repeated…

Noel Card posted an update: The session offered two analogies for the […]

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 14:52:23 -0400

The session offered two analogies for the relationship between small subplot stories in the Bible and the larger plot of the Bible. One is the photomosaic, in which many tiny pictures are arranged to form an overall picture. The other is repeated themes in films, using the example of how different characters respond to the ring in the Lord…

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:43:27 -0400

Great post, Ben! As we learn about the brilliance of the Bible, we quickly recognize that it was not written “by man” alone. Instead, as you wrote, the Bible represents God speaking through human authors.

In reply to - Ben Wagner posted an update

This lesson showed how Psalms continued to trust and hope in a savior who would save and redeem the Israelites. The Psalms help give the reader a narrative on Jewish beliefs in […]

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:40:21 -0400

Wonderful post, Shadrack! Understanding that repetition of key words is intentional, and taking the time to understand why the authors wanted to capture out attention, is a great lesson.

In reply to - Shadrack posted an update

In session 23, we examined the strategic use of repeated key words and root words to form coordinating relationships between literature units, thus helping the reader determine what he […]

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:38:32 -0400

Excellent post, Fabian! I like how you put idea of crossing a cultural border, where our own laws do not apply and our currency is of no value.

In reply to - Fabian posted an update

Session 13 The different Encyclopedias of Authors and readers

This session addresses a fascinating topic: assimilating the narrative of the Hebrew text as if it were a foreign country. […]

Noel Card posted an update: This session focused on characters in the […]

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:35:59 -0400

This session focused on characters in the Biblical narrative. A point made by the instructor – obvious once pointed out but something I had not previously had explicit – is that the Bible typically does not directly state judgment about the characters’ decisions. Instead, the consequences described in the plot illustrate the consequences of…

Noel Card posted an update: This session described the many subplots underlying […]

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 13:10:04 -0400

This session described the many subplots underlying the overarching plot of the entire Bible (Old and New Testament). The instructor laid out two initial, large-scale subplots: the relationship between God and humanity (all nations) then the relationship between God and the people of Israel. These two plots are brought together with…

Noel Card posted an update: This session is the second in the Module on […]

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 11:23:50 -0400

This session is the second in the Module on interpreting biblical narrative. Here, the instructor offers a seemingly simple definition of plot, and how a plot typically leads toward a climax and resolution. He then performs an analysis of the plot of Jonah, illustrating the multiple subplots. The readily evident ones are in Chapters 1-3: 1)…

Noel Card posted an update: This session is the first in the Module on […]

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 15:28:43 -0400

This session is the first in the Module on interpreting biblical narrative. Here, the instructor described narratives as a form of literature intended to convey the authors’ message to us. This means that not every detail is necessarily recorded, and that we should seek to understand the text in terms of the messages the authors intended for…

Noel Card posted an update: This session continued discussion of repetition in […]

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 16:41:10 -0400

This session continued discussion of repetition in Hebrew poetry, extending from parallelism / repetition between nearby lines to repetition among more distant lines. The instructor again went in depth into a few smaller chunks before going into an entire poem (Psalm 67). The beauty of this symmetry highlights the quotation made of Robert…

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 19:33:58 -0400

Great post, Shadrack! I am also finding this course fascinating, offering a more nuanced and realistic story of how the books of the bible were written and transmitted across time.

In reply to - Shadrack posted an update

The lesson examined the origin of the Bible from a historical point of view. The Bible’s divinity and authority doesn’t negate the human processes that brought it into existence. […]

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 19:31:54 -0400

This was a great post! I agree that it is all too easy to believe the messages of fear put forward by Satan and this world. The instructor’s reminder that the prophets were a small group speaking out against the corrupt world suggests that their experiences thousands of years ago have important similarities to today.

In reply to - Leah posted an update

There’s so much to review in this section but I’ll say the part that stood out to me is Isiah 8:11-17 and not to fear what others fear and the “conspiracy” wording – in a world that is […]

Noel Card posted an update: This session focused on parallelism in Hebrew poetry, […]

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 19:24:07 -0400

This session focused on parallelism in Hebrew poetry, going through several examples. The repetition between adjacent (or nearby) lines is intended to raise our attention to comparisons or analogy, to contrasts, or to complements. I appreciated the quote the instructor provided from Fokkelman: “Only those who look closely and have patience…

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 17:54:53 -0400

This is a wonderful post! I love what you wrote: “…my neighbor is anyone I meet who needs mercy.” So true, and so powerful.

In reply to - Desmond posted an update

In this sermon from Colossians 3:12-14, Pastor Steve explores the fifth Beatitude, which says “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7). This Beatitude […]

Noel Card posted an update: This session continued consideration of the poetic […]

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 17:53:03 -0400

This session continued consideration of the poetic framework of Psalm 29. Here, the instructor emphasized the repetition, how this repetition links ideas in different verses, and how it can provide anchors in the overall structure of the psalm (in this case, essentially folding Psalm 29 in the middle, with reversed parallelism between the…

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 15:38:33 -0400

Thanks for this great post! This sounds like a great course.

In reply to - Maria Gruda posted an update

This chapter is another whammy! This study is worth another visit a few times! Great reminders of why it is important to follow God’s will and learn the different types of the will […]

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 15:37:09 -0400

We can learn so much by learning the Hebrew behind our English translations. I appreciate you highlighting the deeper meaning of Hagah; there really is no English equivalent. Thanks for this great post!

In reply to - Leah posted an update

With the seams of the Scrolls we see the nod to the a Moses-like prophet, one who is coming in the future. Elijah arrives, but it’s not him, it’s not Joshua either – so every prophet […]

Noel Card posted an update: This session Focused on how Biblical poetry […]

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 15:34:48 -0400

This session Focused on how Biblical poetry communicates. The instructor started with this analogous caveat, distinguishing the beauty of observing a butterfly versus the technical aspects of dissecting a butterfly. Fortunately, I don’t think this analogy holds – this dissection of Psalm 29 only opened up more beauty. The class emphasized…

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 18:21:43 -0400

Yes, both the quilt analogy and the aspen grove analogy change how we think about the Bible. Great post about this session!

In reply to - Fabian posted an update

Session 12 The Hebrew Bible is like a Aspen Grove

This session in particular really caught my attention because it enriches what we have been learning about the Hebrew Bible in a very […]

Noel Card posted an update: This session emphasized the idea of mental […]

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 18:17:55 -0400

This session emphasized the idea of mental encyclopedias, both those of the authors of the Bible and those of the readers of the Bible. The session makes the compelling point that we need to seek to understand the times and cultures of the Biblical authors to understand what the authors intended, relative to what listeners / readers of that…

Noel Card posted a new activity comment

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 15:52:45 -0400

Welcome Kevin! I also recently started at OBI. I pray that this journey will be fruitful for you!

In reply to - Kevin posted an update

Hello everyone and God bless you. I am very excited to start my associates degree and culminate with my Masters. I currently reside in Indiana near the chicago area.

Noel Card posted an update: This session puts forward an analogy of a quilt […]

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 18:16:29 -0400

This session puts forward an analogy of a quilt to illustrate that the Hebrew Bible consists of multiple older pieces (i.e., works written hundreds of years earlier) organized and brought together by later scholars. The instructor used Ruth to illustrate ‘hyperlinks’ (connections) connecting this book to the end of Judges and to Samuel, which…

Noel Card posted an update: This session provided evidence that the Hebrew Bible […]

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 18:46:34 -0400

This session provided evidence that the Hebrew Bible went through a length process from events, an oral tradition, some early writings, collections of writings, and eventually into proto-editions of the Hebrew Bible. The instructor describes evidence from multiple books that there were multiple organizers (especially Proverbs, Psalms),…

Noel Card posted an update: This session described the process in which a minority […]

Thu, 28 May 2026 19:54:02 -0400

This session described the process in which a minority group of prophets carried forward and expanded the Hebrew Bible from Moses’ death (closing of the Torah) through the post-exile period. The instructor portrays the prophets as a small group speaking out against the Israelite leaders and the majority of the people. This was an interesting…

Noel Card posted an update: This session identified specific instances in the […]

Wed, 27 May 2026 18:32:47 -0400

This session identified specific instances in the Torah where God told Moses to write these books. Each of the three instances mentioned in this session occur at specific times of the story, and those three events provide an effective summary of the entire Hebrew Bible. The first (Exodus 17: 8-9, 14) commands Moses to write about God…

Noel Card posted an update: This session focused on the inspiration of scripture. […]

Tue, 26 May 2026 21:12:17 -0400

This session focused on the inspiration of scripture. The instructor provided an interesting set of Venn diagrams showing how we often think of the interplay between the divine (heavenly, spiritual) and the human (earthly, physical). In the modern, largely secular world, we tend to view these circles as separate. Further, among even the…

Noel Card posted an update: This session picks up from the previous discussion of […]

Mon, 25 May 2026 18:31:04 -0400

This
session picks up from the previous discussion of the “seams” of the scrolls of
the Hebrew Bible. It focuses on Psalms 1
and 2, which would have been the beginnings of the Ketuvim of the Hebrew
Bible. The instructor showed clear
narrative connections between Psalm 1:2 and the beginning of the Nevi’im,
specifically Joshua 1:8, with…