Featured Posts
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What Is Biblical Literacy?
We complain about it, write about it, claim it’s important or even critical, design programs to create it, but what is it? I don’t mean that none of us know what we mean when we say “biblically literate” or “biblically illiterate,” but do we all mean the same thing? I don’t think we do, and…
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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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Experiencing the (Baptism of the) Holy Spirit
This is a topic where I tend to make just about everyone uncomfortable. Long time readers may recall a previous discussion of speaking in tongues, and my own experience of it. Those who expect me to be intellectually oriented and rational are uncomfortable with mystical experiences, and many who are comfortable with the mystical experiences…
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Chief of Staff Position is not Bipartisan
Those who are complaining about the appointment of Rahm Emanuel as President-Elect Obama’s chief of staff should chill out. I can’t think of any expression but “abysmally stupid” for the idea that this would be a bipartisan position. It’s a position for a loyalist with an arsenal.
Dr. James White Declares me (among others) Evil
No, he presumably doesn’t know who I am, and didn’t mention me by name. But I voted for Barack Obama on Tuesday, and I also voted against Florida’s amendment banning gay marriage. I am a Christian, a Bible teacher who normally spends hours daily studying the scriptures. I found this video by Dr. James White…
Patience for the Nuts and Bolts
Last night I attended a Bible study in which my pastor was teaching on Romans 1:22-32. If that verse selection doesn’t fully make sense to you, consider that he was simply following up from the point at which he stopped the prior week. My pastor is Dr. Wesley Wachob, an accomplished exegete. One of the…
Christian Carnival #249 – Deep Breath Edition
The U. S. election is over and we have a new president-elect. No matter how happy, indifferent, or distressed you are about the result or not, take a deep breath and remember just who is in charge of all this. I am thus taking my theme from Daniel 4. I’m taking the posts in order…
Reflection after the Election
Since I had decided long ago what my vote would be, and the man I thought the better (though not nearly perfect) candidate won, it was enjoyable for me to watch. I really don’t want to dwell on the details. The greatest problem for President-Elect Barack Obama may not be any of the crises with…
Expect Christian Carnival #249
. . . sometime this afternoon. Thanks for the submissions!
Reflection before the Election
I have been fascinated by politics for as long as I can remember. The first presidential campaign I recall thinking and talking about was in 1968 when I was 11 years old, though I had certainly read and talked about many. There was never any doubt that I would register to vote as soon as…
Christian Carnival 249 Coming UP
. . . right here!
Biblical Studies Carnival XXXV Posted
. . . at Abnormal Interests. Besides the fact that I have a post from my Threads blog listed, there are a couple of major sections that are particularly worth taking a look. First, there are numerous posts relating to recent discoveries relating to the history of Israel. Duane did a great job of showing…
Stupid Scam E-Mail
I often read a few lines of these scam e-mails just because they are so poorly written. Today I got a new one purporting to be from one “Sgt. David Brown” a “U. S. Marine Capt.” in Iraq. The stupid scammers should spend more time on research.
In Which God do we Trust?
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and I’m never one to shrink from producing a thousand words–or ten! I wonder what a video is worth? A certain number of words per frame? In any case, I wrote earlier about God being mocked in the campaign and I even commented on how “In…
The Advantages of Stoning False Prophets
Yesterday I was listening to the radio in my car and heard a woman caller inform the host that God had told her who to vote for in the election. She hadn’t been sure, and she had been inclined differently herself, but the good Lord told her to vote for Obama, and she trusted God…
Obama and the Socialism Charge
I’m interested in how one can take a rather ordinary set of proposals and make them incendiary just by providing a label. And sorry, my conservative friends, I don’t buy into the “but he really is a socialist” line. The basis of the socialism charge is specific–Obama’s tax plans–and a response to that particular point…
Christian Carnival #248 is Posted
. . . at Fish and Cans.
Value of Basic Research (even in France)
In the middle of a speech on commitment to special needs children, Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin chose to take a pot shot at some pork–research into fruit flies. It was a particularly good political shot, because the research is taking place in Paris, France, and obviously, “real” Americans don’t want to pay for anything that…
Next Christian Carnival (#248)
. . . will be at Fish and Cans. You have a couple of hours yet to submit your best work!
To Stimulate or Not to Stimulate
The more I read Robert Rech’s comments on the current economic crisis, the better I like what I read. He’s been calling for stimulus that involves rebuilding the infrastructure. He’s calling for the same, but also suggesting that the lame duck congress will not be the ones to create a well-crafted stimulus package. He says:…
Quote of the Day
This one makes me think (it’s from Brian McLaren): The early church is not homogenized, new believers are not mimics when converted, they remain unique people. Whoever loves God is known by God. Knowledge can destroy the weak Christian; therefore, how do we deal with people with different knowledge?An Epistemology of Love | Everyday Liturgy,…
Suspending Free Speech in Politics
Though I have decided to support Barack Obama for president this year, one of the great negatives on my checklist for him and for the Democratic party is campaign finance laws. When I put the candidates side-by-side, however, McCain isn’t a significant improvement on that point. This is illustrated by this story on CQPolitics, informing…
Somebody Should Hire Her Quick
An intern with the San Diego Police Department, Gabrielle Wimer, solved a cold case from 1971.
Abortion as a Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free Card
Recently I had a conversation with someone who claimed that Republicans had much more integrity than Democrats. He was, of course, a Republican. I maintained, in turn, that all politicians were tempted, and that many would, inevitably, lose their integrity, irrespective of party. After we had exchanged names and scandals for a period of time,…
Religion and God Mocked in Campaign
In an article titled Palin breaks with McCain on gay marriage amendment, I found the following: Palin also claimed religion and God had been “mocked” during the campaign, although she offered no evidence to support that. “Faith in God in general has been mocked through this campaign, and that breaks my heart and that is…
Sacrifice then and Now
What meaning is evoked in people’s minds by the word “sacrifice?” One of the things I like to do when teaching is to simply write a word on the board that is commonly used in Biblical and/or Christian discourse and get people to give me various things that this word means to them. I try…
Colin Powell Endorses Barack Obama
I know this is old news by now, but I particularly appreciated the tone of the endorsement. As one who has some policy disagreements with Barack Obama, but who nonetheless supports him on balance, I was glad to hear a nuanced endorsement. Here’s the video: PS: I particularly appreciated his comment on the question of…