Monumental Hodge-Podge Biblical Studies Carnival
It has been concocted and posted at Dr. Jim’s Thinking Shop. It is monumental. And a hodge-podge. Like I said.
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The Best Bible Version is the One You Read
Across the front cover of my book What’s in a Version? I placed the slogan that forms the title of this post. You might think it’s a strange thing to put on the cover of a book. I’ve used it in class as well. I’ve received more criticism for that one line than for anything…
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The Risen Christ is Know Initially by His Wounds
From the forthcoming study guide to Philippians (from my company, Energion Publications), in commenting on Philippians 1:27-30: Even now in our time, we can take confidence in Paul’s assertion that God is with us and that, in life and death, and celebration and persecution, Christ sustains us. We are resurrection people. But, our lives are…
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There are Things Worth Contending For
And some that aren’t … After much of what I heard about Paul in school, which was really rather a lot, I think one of the most important things to remember when reading Paul’s letters is that they are letters, and that Paul writes pastorally. He is not writing systematic theology. On the other hand,…
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Fear, Beliefs, and Questioning
I’ve often said that I think people who become angry when their beliefs questioned are actually less confident of those beliefs, rather than more so. But that’s a pretty broad and inadequate statement, I think. I was discussing this with my wife recently, and we were wondering why neither of us get annoyed with people…
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Of Lead Codices and Crucifixion Nails
Actually the headline is just hype. I’m not going to say much about them. By the time things settle down to where I think I have something to say, somebody else has already said it. I guess I’m just slow. But here’s a great quote from James McGrath at Exploring Our Matrix: Even while the…
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How David Ker Made Me Read Jim West
David Ker has written a book, and it has lots of pictures of hippos in it. Since my very favorite song is “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas,” this means that I truly adore the book. Besides, I’m only about a decade late taking notice of it. Now I haven’t actually read the book, but…
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If Your Spouse is Abusing You, Get Out of There
A video from John Piper is making the rounds (HT: Tim Ricchuiti). I’m not going to comment directly on the video. Rather, I think it is worthwhile to give my answer to the question asked. What does a woman who is abused do? (Note also that I’m aware there are men who are abused, but…
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If We Were Doing Our Job in the Church
… then perhaps nobody could say this: But if four years of college undo 18 years of parenting and religious affiliation, perhaps the faith community’s tenuous hold is the problem, not the particular place outside its bubble where that hold evaporates. Consider the believers we’ve seen in history. With all the persecution that Judaism and…
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A Misuse of the Word LITERAL
One of my pet peeves is the way “literal” is used in discussing biblical interpretation. The problem is not just that the word has changed meaning; rather, it is now scattered all over the map. “Literal” comes to mean anything from “seriously” to “severely out of context” much more often than it means “literal as…