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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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Bible Version Selection Tool XML
I have made this tool’s information available through an RSS (like) feed. For information on how to use this feed, see my post on my computer services blog.
Series on Women in Ministry
I found a series on women in ministry via my Blogrush widget (look right and down a bit). It’s quite good, in four parts, part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4. Check it out.
On Being a True Believer
I’ve been thinking of writing this ever since I read Joe Carter’s post Plagued by Certainty, but I haven’t really had the time. You see, while there are certainly many things regarding which I disagree with Joe Carter, I find a certain resonance with his claim of certainty in matters of faith. This certainty does…
What is a Level Playing Field?
According to the New York Times, Dr. Richard Dawkins “withered” when confronted with questions in the screening of expelled: Mr. Mathis said in an interview that he had confronted Dr. Dawkins in the question and answer period after the screening and that Dr. Dawkins withered. These people who own the academic establishment and who have…
Expelled! Humor
This is simply too funny. Put down your coffee. Chew and swallow whatever food you may have put in your mouth. OK. Ready. Go read this post on Panda’s Thumb. [Don’t read on until you’ve read the linked post.] I’ve been amused at the way the producers have been promoting Expelled!, annoyed by the way…
NOTHING Ends on Friday
I want to recommend my wife’s encouraging Good Friday post NOTHING Ends on Friday. Sometimes we see holy week just as a commemoration of the past, but there are life lessons here as well.
Convincing Yourself of Falsehood
. . . or perhaps of less than complete truth. Some years ago when I was in the Air Force I had a roommate who was an excellent software engineer. At the time I was a serious hobbyist programmer, so occasionally we would work together on projects. I remember a case in which he had…
Updating my Bible Version Selection Tool
I have made two major changes to my Bible Version Selection Tool. The first is a new domain. It is now at MyBibleVersion.com. When I found that domain name available, I couldn’t resist paying the few dollars it cost to get it. Second, I’ve created a simplified version. The new page has drop down box…
Frank Schaeffer on Dr. Wright
Frank Schaeffer has produced some stir with his notes supporting Barack Obama, and now he has written something about the imbalance between the response to Dr. Wright’s comments and the response to those of his, Schaeffer’s, father. He says: When Senator Obama’s preacher thundered about racism and injustice Obama suffered smear-by-association. But when my late…
Christian Carnival #CCXVI
. . . has been posted at Crossroads.
Evidence that Demands a Kingdom
Thomas an excellent post on Everyday Liturgy, titled Evidence that Demands a Kingdom. This is part of a series, all of which have been good, but this one struck me most forcefully so far. Go, read it, and check out the links to the rest of the series.
Distress, Lies, and Christlikeness
I follow Dr. Steve Matheson’s blog Quintessence of Dust very closely, because as I have read what he posts I have found that he has a high level of integrity, and also provides an extremely high density of information in carefully chosen words. Recently he has been posting on the topic of just how one…
Obama Speech Transcript
It’s available here. This is for all you other people like me who prefer to read something that long.
Causes, Excuses, Reasons, and Justifications
I’m giving in to my tendency to write about broad principles rather than specific situations, though of course I’ll have to use a few specific situations as examples. I’ve heard this issue raised numerous times in numerous different situations. It can be stated this way: Does finding causes and reasons for an event or an…
John 18:1-4 – Getting Christological Perspective
If you’re acquainted with the synoptic gospels, in reading John 18:1-4 you may notice some substantial differences. What’s missing here is the time of tarrying and waiting, the prayer, any sort of agony or question about what Jesus was about to go through is gone. Verse 4 puts the different feel of the text into…
Holy Week Devotions
I’m sticking largely with the Good Friday lectionary this week for the devotionals I’m writing for my wife’s list. The first two are Watching and Waiting and Restoring Broken Things. They will continue each week day.
It Looks Like Obama is Going to Educate
Yesterday in my first post on RedBlueChristian.com, I referred to a conversation with my wife in which she suggested that Barack Obama has an exceptional opportunity to educate and help America grow. I just read an article on MSNBC.com talking about his proposed speech in Philadelphia on the topic. If he does this right, it…
Another Jeremiah
I recalled Micaiah before I thought of Jeremiah in this case, even though Dr. Jeremiah Wright shares the great prophet’s name. Micaiah is the prophet of who never prophesied anything good about Ahab (1 Kings 22). Jeremiah, on the other hand, was definitely an anti-patriot. Very little that he said was appreciated by the hierarchy…
A Repentance Speech Event
A friend sent me a link to this post on Language Log which discusses public repentance as a speech event. If you tag some spiritual implications onto the linguistic analysis, it adds some interest as well!
Spectrum of Views on Historical Reading of the Gospels
I often present a standard spectrum of views on reading the gospels as history, one which extends from the conservative, or even fundamentalist side, which claims that all details of any type must be historical, to the opposite radical conclusion which claims that the gospels are entirely fiction. Most discussion goes on somewhere between that,…
Home-Grown Insurgents?
This is funny. And thought provoking.
Reading the Passion Narratives
I was reading from Darrell Bock’s book Jesus According to Scripture, and I was struck by a footnote. I’ve been reading from the passion narrative in Matthew, because it is the lectionary selection for this year, but I like to read Bock’s notes because he points out the similarities and differences between the various accounts….
Troy Britain Has a New Blog
I’ve been acquainted with Troy since back in early Religion Forum days. He’s had a web presence for some time, but now he has finally created a blog, Playing Chess with Pigeons (don’t ask me). Welcome to the blogosphere, Troy! I suspect he’ll talk about antievolution stuff quite a bit, which will be good. He…
Race and Obama’s Success
I have watched the stories about Geraldine Ferraro with some interest. She was one of the pioneers, suffering a loss in 1984, but nonetheless being part of a historic candidacy. Though I have at times thought the Clinton campaign wants to introduce race into the campaign, they have at a minimum done so subtly. Ferraro…