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Sorrow Like My Sorrow – Lamentations 1:12
Can we really understand the suffering of another person or they ours?
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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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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.
Genesis 2:4-9 – God Plays in the Mud
This is again from the Daily Bible Study series. One complaint I have about the reading is that they will split up chapters and even give the verses out of order. This is not, unfortunately, according to some coherent theory about the history of the text, so far as I can tell, but seems to…
Genesis 1:1-2:4a from the Daily Study Bible
This is a day late, but the text for Sunday, the key text for the lesson, was the creation story of Genesis 1. This is a summary of what I taught, and some notes on what I didn’t. For obvious reasons, we discussed Hurricane Dorian. By Sunday morning we were pretty sure we would not…
Exodus 31:12-17 – Daily Bible Study
As I continue my posts on the Daily Bible Study readings for this week’s Sunday School lesson, I come to what may be, for many, a somewhat more troubling passage. It’s not that the passage mandates no work on the seventh day of the week, though that bothers some, but more that the penalty for…
Hebrews 11:1-3 – Daily Bible Study Text
Hebrews 11:1-3 begins thus: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (KJV). Most of the words here are at least a bit controversial. It may be easier to understand the passage if we accept that the writer is not trying to define “faith” or the Greek word “pistis,”…
Link: What Was It Like?
This is to go for the reading for the week of August 26-31, 2019 in the Daily Bible Study series. What Was It Like? This is especially related to the reading for August 29, Psalm 33:3-9.
Link: Do You Really Want to Hear God’s Voice
In connection with my notes on Psalm 33:3-9 I’m adding this link to a short story I wrote back in 2014 about someone who thinks he wants to hear God’s voice: It Got Very Quiet up in the Mountains.
Psalm 33:3-9 for the Daily Bible Study
I’m continuing with comments on the scripture passages for this week from the Daily Bible Study, which my Sunday School class uses as curriculum. This passage, like most of the passages this week, links God’s Word (whether in words or not) with creation and justice. We are to praise God because his word holds true,…
Proverbs 3:13-20 from the Daily Bible Study
Continuing my notes on the daily passages from this week’s lesson, I’m looking at Proverbs 3:13-20. I assume it’s clear to all that the subject is creation. We again find ourselves looking at God’s revelation through God’s work. I like to emphasize the importance of not just reading words from the Word of God, as…
Job 9:4-10 – A Sunday School Text Used Out of Context
I like reading the texts before I’ve read the lesson material so that I can see what I can learn from them without the direction of the lesson topic. So why do I call this text “out of context” when I haven’t even seen how it will be used by the lesson material. The reason…
Psalm 19 for Sunday School
I’m teaching Sunday School this coming week, and the class uses the Daily Bible Study from Cokesbury. The first scripture for the week is Pslam 19:1-6. The lesson focuses on creation, so it’s not surprising that only the first six verses are used. Some scholars believe that Psalm 19 is two separate compositions. These first…
When the Spirit Grabs You
… and it’s not fun! The temptation to domesticate God is strong. We say we are willing for the Spirit to use us, but are we willing to be used by the Spirit in ways we do not expect? AllanRBevere.com Be sure to read the rest.
Remembering
Each time I hear a news item that I know will involve members of our armed services being sent into danger, I am jarred just a bit. This wasn’t so early in my life. I formed many political opinions without ever thinking of the individual human cost of those actions. The fact is that if…