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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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Keep Good Friday and Easter Together
Easter services are much better attended than Good Friday services. I suspect this is inherent in human nature. We prefer the solution to the hardship getting there. We prefer the happy ending to the suffering that led up to it. It’s not surprising that we do. Who doesn’t prefer those good times? Who doesn’t want…
A Note to Headline Readers
Don’t! Before you share anything, read the whole article. Check your facts. But even before that … before you believe anything, read carefully, check your facts. Headlines are often misleading. Their purpose is to get you to read, and in social media, they are aimed to get you to share. In an emergency, misinformation can…
Fear, Prayer, Trust, and Action
As I write posts and various notes that speak against fear, I want to make sure some things are clear. There are two quotes that have been going through my mind. The first is: “Prayer is not a substitute for anything, and there is no substitute for prayer.” I know I first heard this from…
Ezekiel and the Bones
The lectionary readings called my attention to Ezekiel 37:1-14. I love the story, not to mention the song. So how about the song? There’s a specific point I want to call attention to. Notice how God provides Ezekiel with very specific instructions as to what to prophecy, first in verses 4-6, and then following up…
On Milk and Milk
A couple of days ago I was reading 1 Peter during my devotional time and was struck by 1 Peter 2:1-3: Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation—if indeed you…
When Experts Make Mistakes
Anyone can make a mistake. That includes the experts we need to depend on in order to make decisions in difficult situations. So what do we do about this possibility of error? This problem becomes particularly acute in our minds in a time of fear. When we are afraid, we often seek something certain to…
The Limitations of Word Studies
It’s a common question, but it’s one I don’t like: What does that Greek word really mean? (You can substitute Hebrew or Aramaic for Greek.) The basic problem is the assumption that a word “really” means anything specific. Underlying this is a tendency to think that one discovers the meaning of a communication by mentally…
Fear Shouldn’t Decide
Since this is a time of posts about COVID-19, I want to make it very clear that I am not providing any information or advice specifically related to the virus. I am not an expert in infectious diseases, epidemiology, or any of a bunch of related fields of study. I choose to get my information…
Link: The Comma Johanneum
Bill Mounce discusses the evidence that the added trinitarian formula in 1 John 5:7-8 is not original. This is a summary of well-known evidence, not breaking new ground, but is one of the clearest presentations I’ve seen.
Link: More Thoughts on Greek and Hebrew Bibles in Church
The original author responded to another post on this topic. (Note: this is not a response to my own comments, though it provides some valuable thoughts to be read after mine.
Link: On Spiritual Disciplines
With a hat tip to UM-Insight, I saw a great cartoon and some excellent commentary on the Wesley Brothers blog. Maybe you think you, too, need a Disciplan. Here’s a quote: We don’t engage in these practices to prove anything. Selfless practices do not make me more worthy of God’s love. Rather, they prepare my…
Why I Stopped Carrying My Greek NT to Church and then Started Again
There’s an article on For the Church, in which Dr. Andrew King tells students: “Don’t Take Your Greek or Hebrew Bible to Corporate Worship.” There are a number of good points in the article, such as the note that if you are not comfortable with the languages, working on them during a sermon may be…
A Note on the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
I had occasion to discuss this passage a couple of days ago, and it reminded me of many discussions I have had regarding this parable. (It’s Matthew 20:1-16, by the way.) This is a short note and not an extended discussion. The most common response I hear to this is that it isn’t fair. My…
How to Read Hebrews 4
… or any scripture, for that matter. In graduate school I became progressively less interested in listening to sermons or in reading devotional items. While I was very interested in reading poetry, fiction and other non-technical materials, I applied a largely technical approach to scripture and theology. I say this to make clear that I…
Link: Mounce on Translation and Verbal Inspiration
While I disagree with a number of minor points, the one major one being that I would not use the word “verbal” in describing inspiration, this is an excellent outline of how Bible translators think and the reasons behind that thinking. The author, William D. Mounce, responds in some cases to Grudem, but the article…
Faith on the Edge Podcast and Ditch the Building
Steve Kindle and Bruce Epperly got together on the Faith on the Edge podcast (episode 33) to discuss Nick May’s book Ditch the Building. I’m publisher to all three authors, though as pointed out in the podcast, Bruce has books with a number of publishers. It should be noted that Bruce’s written output is too…
Can We Cure Christian Insanity?
Albert Einstein is frequently credited, incorrectly, with saying that insanity is repeatedly doing the same thing but expecting different results. Repeatedly point out that the attribution is incorrect is likely a form of insanity, as it will doubtless still be attributed to Albert Einstein. (You can read the details on the Quote Investigator.) I like…
Theology and Exhortation in Hebrews
I’m continuing to read Guthrie’s commentary on Hebrews (George H. Guthrie, Hebrews, The NIV Application Commentary, Kindle edition) and I am enjoying his approach. That doesn’t mean agreeing with everything, but I find that his approach is likely to be particularly helpful to preachers and teachers as he attempts to bridge the cultural differences. In the…
Guthrie on the Authorship of Hebrews
I took note of this quote from George Guthrie’s discussion of authorship: As with other matters of background we are almost entirely dependent on evidence internal to the book. So, what does the work reveal of its maker? George H. Guthrie, Hebrews, The NIV Application Commentary, Kindle edition In a way, this is the key…
Link: A Messy Incarnation
Energion author Bruce Epperly talks about the messiness of the incarnation in God’s Birth: It’s Fragile and Messy. I consider the incarnation to be the center of good Christian theology.
We Have Sinned
This week as the story of yet another prominent Christian who had fallen passed through my news feeds, a young man who was pleading guilty to 18 counts related to sex with minors, I was led again to Daniel 9 and Daniel’s prayer of repentance. We argue about the impact of prayer and what God…
Above and Below: Thoughts on Exodus 32
Yesterday I taught the Sunday School lesson for my class. The primary scripture was Exodus 32, the story of the golden calf. Our Adult Bible Studies title for the lesson was “The Permission Trap” and the goal was “To recognize the consequences of giving ourselves permission to do that which we know to be wrong.”…
Of Publishing and Facts
Today a post by one of my authors was removed from Facebook. On reading the post I must conclude that if a reader finds a problem with it that would justify removing it from social media, the problem is with the reader, not the post. At the moment we are seeing people in a variety…
I Think I Need One of These
Weaponized T-Rex.