The one devastating charge that is leveled frequently at Arminians is that we are Pelagians. Since the teaching of Pelagius was condemned well in the past, this is supposed to either shut us up or send us into a spasm of defending ourselves from the charge. As far as I’m concerned, call me pelagian or…
Kris again asks an excellent question, and I’m making my answer into a new post rather than extending the previous discussion. Can I just see what your answer would be to the specific question of how should a pastor/ lead presbyter teach disciples of his to tithe? I’m assuming the question really applies to stewardship…
… at The Point Blog.
I get into more trouble with the word “rebuke” than with just about any other. Perhaps I could find a bit less loaded of an English word to translate this concept, but it’s an important one. I mentioned teaching about “the skills of rebuking and being rebuked.” This tends to disturb people. Why? I think…
In a comment to a previous post, Kris asks whether Christians are required to tithe. That was one of two questions and I divided them into two posts to allow for separate discussions of the question. I don’t find tithing in the New Testament. Now I’m not a purely “New Testament” believer. I believe that…
Advent Week 3 in The Mosaic Bible includes 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, which is a wonderful passage to use with regard to to prophecy. For those who may be following my use of The Mosaic Bible with the Revised Common Lectionary let me note that two passages, Zephaniah 3:14-20 and Luke 3:7-20 either are the same…
My blog subtitle reads: Thoughts on Religion in the World from a passionate, moderate, liberal charismatic Christian. One common response to this line is to tell me that it’s impossible to combine those four things into one, so I’d like to provide a few notes on why I use these four labels when self-identifying. First,…
C. Michael Patton has written a post on doctrinal essentials which is quite interesting. James McGrath responds. I find this a very useful discussion even when I disagree on what is essential. For example, while Patton states that he is writing about doctrine, and that another post could be written on essential practice, I would…
With a recent flurry of posts regarding the way in which the Old Testament is used in the New, at least peripherally, I wanted to call attention to one written from a different perspective. The post is Isaiah 7, Nativity, and the Theotokos, written by Mark Olson, who speaks from an Orthodox perspective. He discusses…
This time it’s from my former community, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, though from the Spectrum Magazine blog, which doesn’t follow the church HQ drummer. It’s The Manhattan Declaration: Approach with Caution, and it’s worth a read.