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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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Iraq:What Now for Mixed Shia – Sunni Families – MSNBC.com
In an article subtitled Love in a Time of Madness Newsweek (via MSNBC.com) calls our attention to the human side of the conflict in Iraq. It’s easy to become tied up with strategic goals such as how we prevent terrorism, how we can get out of Iraq and still at least feel that we accomplished…
Characteristics of a Living Church
43Now awe came upon every person, because many miracles and signs were accomplished through the ministry of the apostles. 44All the believers were in unity and had there possessions in common. 45They sold their possessions and assets and divided among all those who needed them. 46Every day they went faithfully to the temple, they broke…
Creation, Evolution, and Genesis 1-11
Now that I’ve given admittedly brief summaries of the major views on origins held by Christians, I’d like to summarize all these views and how those who hold them understand the first 11 chapters of Genesis, element by element. But first, just in case you’re just joining this topic, let me link to the prior…
The Bible and Theistic Evolution
Previously I’ve discussed young earth creationism, old earth creationism, and ruin and restoration creationism. That brings us to theistic evolution, or I could say theistic evolutionary creationism. Though theistic evolutionists may have varying beliefs regard to the nature of God, in general, they see God as the source of all existence in one way or…
Pacesetters Bible School Newsletter
As many of you know, besides my work in writing and publishing, I’m president of Pacesetters Bible School, Inc., an organization dedicated to religious education, and particularly in bringing sound Biblical scholarship to local churches. Pacesetters is a totally volunteer organization (I’m not compensated as president), and is a non-profit. I’ve been pretty lax about…
In a very interesting article, Newsweek discusses the European reaction to Muslim violence over the cartoon issue (see Cartoons: The End of Europes Tolerance? – Newsweek: International Editions – MSNBC.com). This story brought to mind a question I am frequently asked: If you believe in tolerance, why don’t you tolerate the intolerant? Shouldn’t you have…
Ruin and Restoration Creationism
In two previous entries I’ve discussed young earth creationism and old earth creationism. Continuing with this series on how various groups of Christians understand origins, I will now discuss the ruin and restoration theory. I have previously mentioned this theory in the pmaphlet God the Creator and in my review of the book The Invisible…
My Wife and the Spirit of Women
On February 21 I was priveleged to attend the Spirit of Women awards sponsored by the Sacred Heart Health System. My wife, Jody Neufeld, was one of the nominees, 113 women who were nominated for their service to the community. Only three of those could be recognized with awards, but I was impressed that the…
Rev. Creech Rebukes Clergy Letter Signers
Agape press (associated with the American Family Association) has now attacked the , which produce the Clergy Letter signed by more than 10,000 clergy. Starting with their news story Pro-Evolution Clergy Sign Letter Affirming Faith in Darwin’s Theory, in which the headline is inaccurate, and continuing with an opinion piece by Rev. Mark Leech entitled…
Translations: Getting Back to Results
Wayne Leman, on the Better Bibles blog, has posted a note about Ben Witherington’s apology for his remarks about the ESV (Ben Witherington apologizes for ESV comments). I’ve been pretty busy the latter half of this week, so I missed part of the action and had to review it through several blogs. I admire someone…
ESV Controversy and Women
Ben Witherington seems to have started quite a stir yesterday with his post about the ESV entitled The Problem with the ESV. I like Ben Witherington’s work quite a lot, and respect him, but most of this post has to do with who translated the ESV and why, rather than with the quality of the…
More on Communicating Science
Carl Zimmer has more on The Loom about communication and evolution, with an interview with Randy Olson, director of the movie A Flock of Dodos. I believe he has some good suggestions about communication, but I also believe we are still missing the largest issue. I don’t think that a nation that is addicted to…
What is Really News?
As seems so often the case, the news on the shooting accident in which Vice-President Cheney accidentally shot a friend while hunting has become a story about the story. We’re now spending our time talking about how the news was collected, and whether reporters should pursue information vigorously. On The Daily Nightly – MSNBC.com blog,…
The Bible and Old Earth
Old earth creationists differ from young earth creationists primarily on the age of the earth. There is good reason for this. The evidence that the earth is more than 6,000 years old is overwhelming. While there may be debates on speciation and on many details of biological evolution, lines of evidence from many different branches…
Who Needs to Change?
Carl Zimmer, on The Loom, writes about A Flock of Dodos, and comments on scientists who are portrayed in the movie as “inarticulate and high-handed.” Zimmer expands on this topic in a very balanced way, I think, but I question what is expected of scientists in terms of public relations. I know well from my…
Good Posts on Translation
I want to call attention to a couple of excellent posts on Bible translation. The first is an analysis of Hebrews 1:7 by Iver Larsen, a translation consultant, posted by Wayne Leman on the Better Bibles Blog. This translation also leaves open the question of whether a translation of the Old Testament in the New…
Young Earth and the Bible
Note: I’m going to be running two series here in parallel over the next few weeks, one on the methods of Biblical criticism and how a layperson can apply them, and the other on views of God as the creator. I’m pretty well known to be a theistic evolutionist, but at the same time, I…
Biblical Criticism Overview – I
One great divide in Christian Bible study is between those who accept and use the methods of Biblical criticism and those who don’t. Generally, those who don’t regard Biblical criticism as a means to destroy the authority of the Bible and certainly as something that a believer can’t use. Since I am a believer, and…
Praying Now
I’ve been working on a new pamphlet for the Participatory Study Series entitled 7 Barriers to Prayer in Your Church. I came up with these seven barriers while leading a prayer conference at my home church (Gonzalez United Methodist). The following expands on just one of these points. 1Now Peter and John went up to…
John Webb Winter Golf Tournament 2006
The 2006 John Webb Winter Golf Tournament is now history. Previously I commented on this tournament because of its small beginnings, and what it has become today. Today I will make just a few comments and post a more detailed report with pictures on the golf tournament web site. What I saw yesterday was a…
Deciding in your Heart
8But Daniel made a firm decision that he would not pollute himself with the king’s best food or wine, so he asked the chief of the eunuchs for permission not to pollute himself. — Daniel 1:8 (from my TFBV project) Literally, the words about Daniel’s decision read, “Daniel set in on his heart that ….
Involvement
“Look at how large a fire can be kindled by just a small flame.” — James 3:5. James is talking about the bad things that can be done by our tongues, and indeed he is right to do so. We normally regard physical damage as the more dangerous issue. We use the saying, “Sticks and…
New Translations in Selection Tool
I’ve updated my Bible Translation Selection Tool to include some additional, older versions. As I add these versions I want to note a couple of things about this tool. The ratings should be regarded as subjective. I make an effort to use objective standards, but especially on the fine points, it can be difficult to…
Marks of the Jesus Message
This passage is from the lectionary selection for February 5, 2006, Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany. 29And immediately as he came out of the synagogue he went into Simon’s house. 30Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31And coming near he raised her up, taking her…