Featured Posts
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…
All Posts
Piper: Suffering is Judicial
This is via a summary by Adrian Warnock, but I doubt Adrian would get a whole section wrong. There are a large number of things in this message that are right on target, and a few also with which I disagree. But the reason I’m posting a brief response is this: As has become standard…
If You Miss Expelled . . .
… try this idea posted on The Panda’s Thumb. I’ve already declared that I won’t spend money on the film, but it’s a good idea anyhow.
Florida Academic Chaos Bill Advances
The badly misnamed Academic Freedom Bill has advanced through the judiciary committee of the Florida senate. You can find an account of the event on the Florida Citizens for Science blog, and some additional commentary by Pete Dunkelberg on The Panda’s Thumb. Pete notes quite correctly that teachers are not prevented from presenting any scientific…
Of Ossuaries and Toilets
When the James ossuary was found I initially commented that I thought it looked like a forgery. This was a rather bold statement on my part, probably excessively so. I’m not a paleographer, and I only had a newspaper photograph to work from. Nonetheless, there was enough that I could see that I seriously questioned…
Dynamic Range: Breaking Bread and the Eucharist
This post is based on Acts 2:42 and 46. In the NLT of Acts 2:42 the phrase breaking of bread, admittedly a bit less than meaningful in modern English, is translated as sharing in the Lord’s supper. The NRSV reads “breaking of bread” but a note in the New Interpreter’s Study Bible suggests “Lord’s Supper,”…
Unlumping the Various Creationists
. . . or not, as the case may be. Almost two years ago I wrote about my difficulties with the term theistic evolutionist. (I dealt with these definitions more recently here.) My problem was, and is, that the theory of evolution I accept is not different from that accepted by non-theistic evolutionists. The theory…
Relating the Incarnation to Inspiration
Yesterday I wrote a few notes about Dr. Peter Enns and his suspension by Westminster Theological Seminary. G. K. Beale, who reviewed Dr. Enns’ book, complained that Dr. Enns is not very clear about just what in the incarnation applies. Since I still don’t have my own copy of this book, a situation that will…
Continuing the Health Care Conversation
Mark has started responding (crossposted to Stones Cry Out) to some of what I have said on health care, though I have said very little and done so with many words! Mark describes his post as a bit critical, but I would describe it more as vigorously advancing the conversation. If there was an award…
Sabbath Rest
Yesterday I wrote a post about the Sabbath. John, at Locusts and Honey, found a LOLCat that says it better.
Is Sunday my Sabbath?
As an ex-Seventh-day Adventist I get this question frequently. This fine Sunday morning while I’m playing with my computer, let me answer both yes and no! There are several ways in which ex-SDAs deal with the Sabbath. The first is to accept the Sunday as the Sabbath in accordance with the letter of the commandment,…
Dr. Peter Enns Suspended
I wrote a brief post on the suspension of Dr. Peter Enns, tenured professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary on my Participatory Bible Study blog. I put the article there because it relates to Biblical inspiration and interpretation, but I wanted to link from here because it deals with academic freedom.
Peter Enns, Incarnational Inspiration, and Seminary Authority
In 2005 Peter Enns, a professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary, published a book titled Inspiration and Incarnation, and it is likely going to cost him his tenured position. I’m writing about this on this blog because of the implications of his incarnational view of inspiration for Biblical interpretation. I have not yet…
Book: Evolution and Christian Faith
I’m constantly on the lookout for books on evolutionary theory aimed at the general public rather than specialized audiences, so when I saw this little book on the shelf of the local university library, I took it home to check out. My response to it is a bit mixed. There are a number of good…
The Value (and not so much) of the Anchor Bible
At this point I’m nearly half way through my study through 2 Corinthians with Victor Paul Furnish’s Anchor Bible Commentary, on which I made introductory comments earlier. This note is not so much about 2 Corinthians as about the series in general, and especially some of the newer volumes. I absolutely don’t recommend this series…
Persecution for Christians who Accept Evolution
When Troy Brittain started blogging, I knew we’d get some good stuff, and his post More Irony from the ID Creationist Crowd is a good example. It seems unlikely that the real interest of the ID crowd is academic freedom.
Church and Healthcare: Fear
Let me remind everyone that I’m really thinking on my blog, rather than providing answers that I have really thought out in discussing health care issues and the church. I have lots of pieces, but I don’t feel that I have anything like an assembled puzzle. My comments will also necessarily derive from personal experience….
Property May Stay with Breakaway Churches
According to a story on MSNBC.com, some breakaway Episcopal churches in Virginia may be able to keep their property rather than having it go to the denomination. This is a ruling on only one point, and it is based on a law from just after the civil war when there were many issues of this…
Reason is all over Bible Study
In a post on Complegalitarian, Molly Alley discusses how reasonable it is to hold a doctrine that assumes that women will never mature, as in men where once boys who needed the guidance of a parent, but eventually they become mature and are considered ready for leadership. But what about women? Of course, as an…
Health Care: My Visit to the Emergency Room
I take this detour from discussing the church and medical care to talk a bit about why it is so difficult even to discuss medical care in this country, based on a recent personal experience. I’m 50 years old, and a few weeks ago I made my first visit to the emergency room. (Just for…
Another Quick Look at the NISB
I blogged a bit before about the New Interpreter’s Study Bible [NISB], in which I noted that it was somewhat more technical than The Learning Bible and less critical than the Oxford Study Bible. Since then I have been using it quite a bit in my personal devotions and study, and I’d like to add…
2 Corinthians 3:17-18: Freedom to do What?
2 Corinthians 3:12-18 (CEV) (from BibleGateway.com). This post is less about the exegesis, which I’m only covering briefly, and more about application. I have frequently heard this passage (verses 17 and 18) cited in support of a free and unscripted style of worship. In particular, the phrase “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there…
Healthcare and the Church: But What is the Church?
[Since I have readers from a variety of viewpoints, let me note that the following is written from within the Christian tradition and to those in that tradition. It’s OK to read, of course, but it’s unlikely to be of great interest to non-Christians.] Mark at Pseudo-Polymath has started a discussion on health care and…
Curriculum Chaos Bill in Florida
The Florida legislature is considering an Academic Freedom bill. This one has been done to death, and you can find a great deal of information about it on the Florida Citizens for Science Blog, with the most recent update here. I’ll let you get the details via the many posts there. I want to add…
UC Admissions Case Update
Since it’s my day to link to Ed (not really, but he has some good posts, here’s an update on the UC admissions case.