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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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A Review of Carson: Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church
This review is way off my beaten track, but I’ve read much of the material referenced, except for the main player, Carson’s book. I find the issues interesting. On most of them I would come out quite liberal. I was interested in the summary of emerging/emergent issues as sometimes I have a hard time differentiating…
Lakeland Revival Notes
A number of my friends have commented to me on the revival in Lakeland, Florida at Ignited Church, some positively, some with questions, and some critically. Some have seen opposition that is already represented on the web, such as you find here. I have not attended or watched the revival in Lakeland, and I don’t…
Jason Rosenhouse on Evolution and Atheism
Jason has weighed in on this topic here. He has some interesting points that merit a response, but due to a stack of other things I need to respond to I’ll have to just point you there to enjoy what he has to say.
The Bible as an Idol?
Via the blogroll on Gavin’s Various Musings I found Evolving in Monkey Town, and right there at the top was this post on making the Bible an idol. How could I resist continuing to read? After I had read far enough I came across the following quote: I believe that the primary purpose of the…
Changing Churches
My wife and I went to the front of the church last Sunday, declaring our decision to transfer our membership to a new congregation. Many people today are disenchanted with the idea of church membership. I’m a strong believer in membership and involvement. It’s a commitment you make to be an active and supportive part…
A Teacher of Myths
Ed Brayton promoted a discussion I had with another commenter on his blog, and that has generated yet another discussion of whether religion and science are incompatible. A certain number of folks believe they are not, and that religion should fade away as science rules all. For some unfathomable reason, I disagree. One of the…
Malpractice or Malpraxis?
Here is another interesting view on the pastoral malpractice post relating to PSA.
Spirit Lite – Recommended Reading
This blog post on seeking spirituality is excellent. Go read it! (HT: 42).
Guilty of Pastoral Malpractice
Thom Rainer posted an article on Lifeway’s Web Site claiming that pastors who did not preach penal substitutionary atonement (he didn’t use the term, he described the doctrine in very strong terms) are guilty of pastoral malpractice. He used the word “treasonous.” Will, a United Methodist pastor and blogger pleads guilty in that case. I…
UMC General Conference Endorses Clergy Letter Project
I’m a little behind the power curve on this one, but I found out about these via an e-mail from Michael Zimmerman of the Clergy Letter Project. The first resolution is #80990 (tracking) which includes the line: * endorses The Clergy Letter Project and its reconciliatory programs between religion and science, and urges United Methodist…
Pelicans Win 5-2
The Pensacola Pelicans won 5-2 against the Lincoln Salt Dogs tonight. Our son John Webb was not pitching. I understand he’ll be starting in Sioux Falls on Tuesday night, but our guest Brandon Sing hit a 2 run homer as well as a double, going 2 for 4. Following the double he reached third on…
Ken Miller on Expelled
Dr. Kenneth Miller has a review of Expelled! in the Boston Globe, and it’s a good one. It’s short and to the point. (Hat tip to Dispatches where I also commented.) Dr. Miller goes directly to the issue of associating the theory of evolution with atheism, a piece of propaganda work that the movie accomplishes…
Some Examples of Participating in the Bible
I use the term “participatory” to describe the method of Bible study that I teach. To be more precise I might say that’s the umbrella concept under which I teach any number of different methods, while urging people to also find their own. When people first hear the word “participatory” they either say “huh” or…
Science vs. ID Redux: Lampreys
One characteristic of creationist debate over the last few decades has been moving the goal posts. Every time a new fossil is discovered that fits into the evolutionary pattern for some lineage we hear the “it’s still an X” litany, followed by pointing to yet more gaps. Each new fossil, it seems, creates new gaps…
Intimidation by Divine Wrath
Some Christians resort to an argument of intimidation by divine judgment and wrath when the going gets tough. I read this most recently in a comment on YouTube, in which the writer simply quoted Bible texts implying first that people were wrong, and second that God was going to do something about it. Those texts…
Pensacola Pelicans Opening Day
Well, patient readers, you will have to put up with some baseball. My son, John Webb, was the opening day pitcher for the Pensacola Pelicans, and he looked pretty good. His mother and I were a bit concerned to see the trainer go out to the mound in the fifth, but it looks minor and…
Responding to the Evangelical Manifesto
I never refer to myself as an evangelical, but occasionally others do for reasons that are largely unfathomable to me (except a few from across the pond that make some sense), so I usually take a look at documents that come out relating to evangelicalism. I’m always interested in the potential for finding one of…
John Webb Pitching on Opening Day
There’s a nice story today in the Pensacola News Journal (and I rarely call their stories nice!) about my stepson, John Webb, who will be the opening day pitcher for the Pensacola Pelicans baseball team. John was interviewed for the article and gets to talk about his goals and his approach to playing. I’m looking…
Christian Carnival CCXXIII – Tabernacle Edition
Welcome to the Christian Carnival, tabernacle edition. Why use the tabernacle? In my teaching I have found that the tabernacle and its services are almost infinitely useful, often illustrating things that one might not assume from the text. I identify as carefully as I can when I’m being strictly exegetical, and when I’m using the…
How it Happened vs. Probabilities
I may be hopelessly naive in the matter of probability, though it is the one area of math that I have actually studied, but I am simply not terribly impressed with probability arguments. That’s probably (!) a major reason why I’m not impressed with intelligent design (ID). I’m particularly not impressed with probabilities calculated for…
Next Christian Carnival Will be Here
I’m hosting Christian Carnival CCXXIII here. It will be posted later today. I actually cut off submissions this morning, so if you had your post in any time last night, it will get in there. I’ll be posting from somewhere out of my office, so corrections will have to wait at least until evening.
Distinguishing Freedom and Ability
I have always preferred our classic statements of rights, such as the bill of rights, to such statements as Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms.” What interests me is that while our classic statements of rights indicate things that the government is not permitted to prevent you from doing, the latter two freedoms from Roosevelt’s list, and especially…
My Advice for Florida Creationists
Which, for those in doubt, includes advocates of intelligent design (ID). I know they won’t take it, but here it is: Just tell the truth. John West, over at Evolution News and Views, has written a quite disingenuous post in which he wonders about the motives of advocates in the Florida House who insisted on…
Hosting Bible Translations Wiki
Updated: I added one more topic for the wiki, and also changed the links to point to mybibleversion.com which is where I think this belongs. The old URLs are redirected. Before I discuss this, it is not a diversion from personalizing the MyBibleVersion.com site. In fact, it is now a part of that process. “This”…