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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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Literary Types in Genesis 1-11
Pardon me for using “types” where “genre” would be more precise, but I frequently do so in teaching in order to avoid having to explain details. Further, “genre” doesn’t maintain the same meaning across all critical disciplines. In my previous post on the historicity of Genesis 1-11, I wrote as though one could establish a…
Corporate Identity and the Atonement
I want to briefly point to something that we often miss in Bible study and theology in the western church–corporate identity. We are very individualistic, and that makes it hard to see when some form of corporate identity is in play. This turns up in certain views of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Many…
Reviewing an Clueless Reviewer
Ed reviews a review of the Bible Literacy Project, by an apparently clueless Alabama state senator, which should explain it all. As readers will know, I prefer that Bible classes not be held in public school, though the Bible should be included where appropriate in other curricula (literature, social studies, history). If one does choose…
Congratulating a Homeschooler on Science and Religion
I write here frequently against teaching creationism of any variety in public schools. I do this, amongst other reasons to protect the integrity of science, to preserve the limited space in the science curriculum for actual science, and because I think religion in public schools is dangerous to both church and state. One major question…
Integrity is more than Not Lying Outright
People often think that legalism is about trying very hard to be right, and that the main problem with it is that people can’t succeed at it. I would suggest that there’s something more characteristic of legalism, and that it results from trying to paste on the narrow letter of some “right” things to oneself…
Feeling Wonder, Wanting to Know
This is one of those Sunday morning quick posts, because I’m feeling it right now. As a note to my critics, I’ll be off to church in a bit, and that’s partly what got me thinking about this topic. I have been gravitating more and more toward a service at a church downtown that offers…
Unseemly Glee at the Unknown
What is it that makes Christians frequently rejoice when told that something is unknown? I received an e-mail today from Breaking Christian News, which discusses odd coincidences or perhaps weird happenings amongst organ transplant recipients. Now bluntly I don’t see that there is enough here to get excited about. I think the writers grossly underestimate…
Historicity of Genesis 1-11
I think those of us who are not all that conservative, as in moderates and liberals, do everyone a disservice with the admonition, “Don’t take it so literally.” Unless, of course, we break down “not literally” a bit further. The word “literal” has gotten muddied in the public understanding, and is often taken to mean…
MyBibleVersion.com: User Configurable Still Coming
I was actually planning to work on it starting in about an hour, but I just got a service call that’s likely to take a couple of hours. I am really still planning to do this, so be patient!
If You Want to Pray, then Pray!
I worked with a pastor a few years ago who was frequently called up to counsel and pray with other pastors and church leaders. I won’t go into the reasons. In general, he was a bit impatient with talking about the problems, and just wanted to get praying. Normally he’d get a couple of the…
Handing School Administration to the Courts
In a previous post I mentioned that the proposed Academic Chaos Bill here in Florida was cowardly in that it created a very confused situation which others would have to navigate. The Florida house analysis of the bill says much the same thing: Finally, if a principal, the district school superintendent, or the school board…
More on the Original Text
I’m not going to link to every post in Tim’s series, but he has just posted his first substantive one, and I’d like to note a couple of things and then quote part of one paragraph. If you read his first post you will know that Tim is planning to make an argument for the…
Defending the Originals
Keep an eye on if i were a bell, i’d ring for more on this. He just attended a conference and has those intellectual juices flowing.
Notes on Scot McKnight – Teaching the Bible to Emerging Generations
Gavin has his rather useful sounding notes here. There are many aspects of postmodernism, especially as it looks when it gets to where I live, but there’s also a great deal of good in it. This is some of the good.
Threads Comment Policy
I was going to update it to emphasize comment moderation, but I see I already did that. The key point to note here is that I use comment moderation with as careful of filtering as I can. Inevitably it catches legitimate comments and puts them in the moderation queue. Since I work in front of…
XVIVO Claims Copyright Violation in Expelled!
As has been previously reported by a number of bloggers, XVIVO believes that Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed has infringed on their copyright by using portions of their video The Inner Life of a Cell. In a letter demanding that this material be removed prior to the movie’s release, and threatening legal action if it is…
Science Panel in Tallahassee
And a stellar one it is. This discussion is sponsored by Florida Citizens for Science. You can find details here.
New Poll: Who Does God Hate?
With the number of posts on this topic, I’d like to get an idea of how readers of this blog think or feel about God and hate. You’ll find the poll in the right sidebar. Please feel free to comment either here or on the poll page itself. I suspect this one needs a comment…
Bible Reading Poll
I think it’s about time to change polls, so here are the results of the last one: What is your most common reason for reading the Bible (i.e. the one that causes you to spend the most time reading)? Selection Percentage Votes Devotional 23% 8 Guidance for a specific personal situation 6% 2 Ethical guidance…
Three Reasons Florida’s Academic Chaos Bill is Bad
Of course, I refer to the misnamed Academic Freedom Bill. Yesterday I blogged rather angrily about this bill advancing. Why is it that this bill makes me angry and caused me to call certain legislators liars? I want to be brief, for once in my life. The bill is deceptive.The entire opposition to the Florida…
The More in Space the Merrier
It’s good to see that South Korea has joined those nations who have sent someone into space, in this case the youngest woman to do so. Congratulations! The more the merrier!
Hillary Clinton Should not be Blamed for This
All my readers know by now that I prefer Barack Obama out of the available options. Now we receive the exciting news that Bill Clinton disagrees with her on free trade with Colombia. Huge surprise there, considering he pushed NAFTA through, though it’s mildly surprising that he isn’t trying to cover it all up. Personally…
Book Meme Driving me Insane
A few days ago Peter Kirk tagged me with a meme. I tend not to like memes, but I thought this one would be interesting, even if it required me to annoy a few friends! I must confess, however, that I can’t do it. I can’t name a single book. The whole scenario drives me…
Does God Hate Sinners?
Peter Kirk reviews some comments to see if John Piper believes this. It’s a worthwhile, link-rich post. Check it out.