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Dr TK Dunn on the Importance of the Old Testament
This is an extract from a longer interview, which I will also embed. I think Dr. Dunn has some valuable comments on the relationship of scripture and what it means for our study. And here’s the full interview from which that was extracted.
Fences: Mending or Rending
The following is a sermon I presented at the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Pensacola on September 11,2005 and originally posted here on September 13, 2005. I’m reposting it because when I went to look for it, I found that the original post had somehow been truncated, and also because there is a one word at a…
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Borrow, Spend, and Rescue
The senate has passed the bailout bill, and the house is expected it soon. I greet this event with seriously mixed emotions. I do believe that responsible legislators, should there be any, needed to support quick action, and because the action was quick, and because it was in response to a crisis, it is likely…
Biblical Studies Carnival XXXIV Posted
. . . at Metacatholic.
Seeing What We Expect
I was interested in watching the reactions to the debate the other night. No, I didn’t watch it, so I’m not going to give any opinion about who won or lost, or who was right. But in the blogs to which I subscribe I found two posts that were very interesting to me. The questions…
RefTagger from Logos Bible Software
I generally read Adrian Warnock’s blog because his theology is so glaringly different from my own that I think there’s a certain amount of community accountability that results just from forcing myself to read and consider his viewpoint. (Sorry, Adrian, but that’s how it is!) But today he pointed me to a new tool from…
Tagged – but I can Break the Rules
Just to be honest, I probably would have in any case. Tony from Thoughts from the Heart on the Left tagged me with the meme created by L. L. Barkat, so here goes, as I break rules. I’m going to copy the rules from Tony’s post rather than the original, just to be a bit…
Next Biblical Studies Carnival
. . . will be at Metacatholic, and he is calling for submissions as comments to the post I’m linking right here.
Incomprehensible Preaching?
I found this humorous story from the Lark via Shuck and Jive. It’s humorous, I think, because it strikes close to home even though it’s exaggerated. I make two serious points out of this. On those occasions when I’ve had the opportunity to teach Greek or Hebrew to those planning to be pastors I emphasize:…
Evolution, Historical Methods, and Assumptions
Andrew Lamb has commented on a post I wrote back in July. I have responded to most of the comment there, but he references an article of his own, Immeasurable Age, and it employs an approach that, while I do not think it has merit, is so common in both public discourse and apologetics, that…
A Simple and Legitimate Use for a Concordance Indexed to the Biblical Languages
I should just call the title a post and go on! But I won’t. The title and post came to me as I read Stupid Bible Tricks #1, and empathized. I recall one occasion when a speaker who was aware that i read Greek, and knew I had my Greek testament in front of my…
Whither the Budget Deficit
Up, folks, always up. Those who know me as a moderate (which I prefer) or as a liberal (which I am often called) may be surprised to know that I started my political activism by working in the campaign of Ronald Reagan in 1976 when he ran against Gerald Ford. It was the first presidential…
Mixed Health Care Feelings
That’s mixed feelings about health care and feelings about a mixed system of health care, in case you were wondering. I’ve expressed my ambivalence about health care previously. While I hope for an ideal situation in which a certain level of health care is available to everyone regardless of ability to pay, I also want…
Health Insurance Plans
I hope that this topic gets more attention before the election. Christine has some thoughts here and I share many of her concerns and those expressed in the referenced article.
Book Notes: Jesus and the Eyewitnesses
Bauckham, Richard. Jesus and the Eyewitnesses. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2006. 538 pp. ISBN: 0-8028-3162-1. I would remind my readers again that I am writing some notes on my experience of reading this book and not a formal review. I requested this book via interlibrary loan because it was recommended by a…
Idiocy and Firing Michael Reiss
I realize that journalists write confused stories and that headline writers produce stupid headlines to go with them, but I would think that academic or scientific organizations, irrespective of subject, should be able to be more sensible. It may not be so. “Firing” is, of course, my own overblown headline, provided you regard essentially forcing…
Will We Let the Text of Scripture Change Us?
On The Rev’s Rumbles (HT: Shuck and Jive) there is a discussion of Biblical authority. The writer quotes the following assertion favorably (from Kenneth Cauthen): NO CHRISTIAN ALLOWS THE BIBLE TO TEACH AS THE AUTHORITATIVE WORD OF GOD WHAT IS KNOWN OR BELIEVED (FOR WHATEVER REASONS) TO BE EITHER UNTRUE OR IMMORAL. EVERY CHRISTIAN FINDS…
1 Corinthians 13 for Academics
From James McGrath. Excellent! (Note to self: Laminate it and hang it on the wall in plain view.)
Checking on ex-Hurricane Ike
First I want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with the folks who experienced Hurricane Ike. Having lived through a couple of interesting storms, such as Ivan and Dennis, I empathize with their position. I’m not very good at writing condolence blog posts, largely because I think they are empty gestures for the…
But the Whole Election is Out of Context!
So much of the way in which we understand language, not to mention pretty much everything else, is simply context. Thanks to the folks at Language Log we have a discussion of how Sarah Palin was taken out of context when some claimed that she thought we were on a God ordained mission in Iraq….
Using the NLTSB, NISB and NOAB: Exodus 15:1-21
I’m continuing looking at the NLT Study Bible (NLTSB) in comparison with the New Interpreter’s Study Bible (NISB), which I have also acquired recently. Today I’m going to add a comparison to the New Oxford Annotated Bible (NOAB). Note that I am still working from the second edition. I think many Methodist ministers or ministerial…
Textual Criticism Summary from Parchment and Pen
C. Michael Patton presents Textual Criticism in a Nutshell, though what he means more precisely is New Testament textual criticism in a nutshell. It’s quite a good introduction giving a feel for the types of variants and why they might occur, and also why we might prefer not to call them “errors” considering that some…
Who Are We After 9-11?
Any number of speakers and writers, myself certainly included, have talked about the various things we need to do to make our country safer from terrorist attacks. We’ve also sung the praises of rescue and relief workers and of various leaders during the time of crisis. Other countries of suffered greater losses proportionally than we…
Good Decisions on Education in California
Christianity Today reports on two decisions regarding education in California. In one case, the courts upheld the University of California’s decision to reject certain courses when considering eligibility for admission. In the other, the right of parents without a teaching degree to homeschool. Some may see these decisions as contradictory, but that would only be…
Book Notes: Live to Tell
Kallenberg, Brad J. Live to Tell: Evangelism for a Postmodern Age. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2002. ISBN 1-58743-050-9. 138 pages. One of our pastors handed this book to my wife because of her interest particularly in discipleship. You may ask why one should give a book on evangelism to someone primarily concerned with discipleship, but…
Critical Methods and Modern Tests
Over the last few days there have been a flurry of posts at Language Log that could be related to Biblical criticism, though that is not the intent of their authors. What they are actually discussing is authorship identification and then spin spotting, with an interesting twist at the end. Here are some key posts…