Some time ago I was invited to answer questions from a group of wonderful young people. They were invited to ask me any question they wanted. On about the third question, as they were discussing the background between them, I had my finger in a place in my Bible where I was going to start…
No, not the authors of the biblical text, though that’s an interesting topic. I’m talking about disagreeing with a study guide author, in this case a study guide author I chose both to publish and then to use in my Sunday School class. One class member was surprised—not shocked, annoyed, or disturbed, but just surprised—that…
Here’s an interesting post on the longer ending of Mark and snake handling. (HT: Dave Black Online, Why Four Gospels?) There’s obviously a serious question about hermeneutics lurking in the discussion, but what I would like to see discussed is just what text of Mark is authoritative. We tend to assume that what we want…
This past Sunday I completed teaching a four week series on Revelation for one of the Sunday School classes at Chumuckla Community Church. It’s always interesting to try to teach a short series on the book of Revelation. There is so much there, and so much background information is needed. It’s difficult to be effective….
I dislike study Bibles. I almost said I hate them, but since I do tolerate some of them, that would be overstating the case. My problem with them is that they tend to blur the distinction between the text that we’re studying and the commentary made about it. I have managed to keep my annoyance…
When I wrote yesterday about the HCSB introduction and its use of the label “optimal equivalence” I fully intended to write another post complaining about that introduction. And I will mention the other issue briefly in this post. But something else was drawn to my attention in the meantime. Let me lay a foundation. Some…
David Allen has an excellent series of posts on this passage (HT: David Alan Black), which I think is the key to the entire book. I am, of course, especially impressed with the fact that much of what he says is compatible with the way I believe the passage should be interpreted! Agree or disagree,…
Thomas Hudgins provides 10 steps for biblical exegesis. I’m particularly pleased to see structural and rhetorical analysis on the list.
I was out driving today and saw a church sign with the statement, “The Bible – Your First Notebook.” What exactly does that mean? I see almost nothing about the Bible that makes it like a notebook. It’s still better than the common statement—at least I heard it frequently when I was younger—that the Bible…
Oh, we don’t have to keep it brief. My friend Greg May (also an Energion author, Crewed Awakening and It’s in the Toolbox) wrote a great post this morning about application. There’s nothing wrong, in my view, and much good about learning the nuts and bolts of the Bible. I’ve encountered an attitude similar to…