Featured Posts
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
Social Notes (see all)
All Posts
AAAS on Hana and Francisco Ayala
The AAAS web site has a wonderful profile of Hana and Francisco Ayala, along with an interview with both on video. Dr. Francisco Ayala states that ID is not science, but it is also very bad theology. He calls evolution the unifying principle of biology, and calls intelligent design “blasphemy.” This is worthwhile listening for…
Darksyde on Bill Dembski
There’s a new post on The Daily Kos, Know Your Creationists: Bill Dembski, that readers may find interesting. It provides some background, and there are some links to some work on the math in the comments. I appreciate those mathematicians who have deconstructed Dembski’s math. When I first read something by him, it occurred to…
Good Theology, Bad Theology, and Demons
I have frequently commented that intelligent design (ID) is bad theology. Equally often, I am challenged by someone who will point out that ID may be bad theology from my point of view, while it might be good theology from someone else’s point of view. This is a very valid objection to what I have…
Book: Who’s Afraid of the Old Testament God?
In several recent posts, especially dealing with issues of harsh passages in Hebrew scriptures (or the Old Testament), I have referred to a book, Who’s Afraid of the Old Testament God? by Dr. Alden Thompson. This book was critical as I developed my own view of scripture and especially as I dealt with some of…
New Categories
I dislike multiplying categories, but in trying to sort through the amount of material I have on this site, and in looking ahead at what I have planned, I think it will be too hard to find any of the older posts without some more detailed categories. I will try to go through all the…
John Webb Winter Golf Tournament 2006
This is another short “pride in my stepson” post. Each year since before our son James passed away, his older brother John, now a pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals organization (as a starter with the AAA Memphis Redbirds this year), has sponsored and participated in a golf tournament to raise money for the children…
The Danger in Uncritical Thinking
Three posts today called my attention to the problem of uncritical thinking amongst Christians. This is a topic I bring up frequently. It’s not that I believe those who think critically will automatically agree with me. I’ve had to revise some of my own opinions after thinking critically about them at a later date. But…
A Personal and Biblical Relationship
My ChristianityToday.com “Connection” e-mail brought me a link yesterday to their blog Out of Ur. The specific entry was an excerpt from an article by John Suk from an essay in Perspectives, A Personal Relationship with Jesus?. The Christianity Today discussion is at Your Own Personal Jesus: Is the language of “a personal relationship” biblical?,…
Applying Divine-Human Scriptures
I’ve used the term phrase “divine-human combination” or something quite close to it several times over the last few days. It’s easy to make it appear that this concept of inspiration, sometimes called “incarnational” is largely a tool to deal with the difficult parts of scripture. When I read “love your neighbor as yourself” I…
Book: Holy Smoke! Unholy Fire!
Some may be aware that I’m a publisher as well as a writer, and so every so often I want to talk about one of the books I publish. My intention in starting a publishing company in the first place was simple: I wanted to produce materials for which I saw an unfilled need in…
Slavery and the Bible Condensed
I’d like to condense the major arguments with regard to the Bible and slavery, as it appears that at least a couple of people have missed the point at which I’m hooking into this debate. (Please resist the idea that because I use lists when summarizing that I’m actually trying to reduce this to formal…
Case Dismissed against Afghan Christian Convert
Good news! The case against Abdul Rahman has been dismissed, according to a news story on MSNBC, Afghan Christian converts case to be reviewed. If this is true, this is wonderful news. The downside may be the reaction of conservatives in Afghanistan where the new government of Hamid Karzai may find itself under increasing pressure…
Biblical Decision Making
My previous post, Does the Bible Condone Slavery?, has produced some interesting responses, and one very valid question is just how I think the Bible should be used in making decisions. I’m going to try to keep this brief, but I’m not very good at that, so bear with me! The most common analogy I’ve…
Tradition Criticism
Tradition criticism is an overview method that encompasses all four of the critical tools I have discussed previously, textual, form, source, and redaction criticism. Tradition criticism differs in that it is an overview process of studying the entire history of the text, looking for ways in which the expressed tradition has changed, and the circumstances…
Does the Bible Condone Slavery?
Ed Brayton, on his blog Dispatches from the Culture Wars, started a bit of an exchange over slavery and the Bible with his post Slavery and the Bible, which was answered over on In The Agora by Eric Seymour in his post Does the Bible condone slavery?. Just so you have the whole story, Ed…
Redaction Criticism
After discussing Form Criticism and Source Criticism, Redaction Criticism is really quite easy to deal with. Redaction is simply another term for editing. It is the study of how an editor works the sources he has into a final document, the document that we would commonly refer to as the autograph. Again, it is important…
The Locus of Biblical Inspiration
I was doing my morning reading a couple of days ago from the book of Hebrews. One of the verses that caught my eye this time was Hebrews 2:6-9, and particularly verse 7, quoted from Psalm 8:5 (all verse numbers from the English Bible, Psalm 8:5 is 8:6 in Hebrew). Now this quotation is an…
Identifying Your Gifts and Service
Identifying Your Gifts and Service is a workbook that I wrote, which is published by my publishing company, Energion Publications. I’m going to write here about how to use that workbook effectively in helping church members understand their spiritual gifts and put them to use in support of the church’s mission. Identifying Your Gifts and…
Source Criticism
[Note, 3/25/06 — the original post was truncated due to a syntax error I made in the HTML. This is the corrected version.] (Continuing my series on Biblical criticism, from my last post From Criticism.) If Form Criticism can properly be called a “tree method” rather than a forest view, Source Criticism might be said…
We’re Supporting What?
Over on the evangelical outpost Joe Carter is blogging about the situation in Afghanistan, where Abdul Rahman is awaiting sentencing for converting to Christianity. Read the full story from Cybercast News Service here. You can review the Afghan constitution and see just why this is possible. This story is bringing to people’s attention just what…
The Unforgivable Sin
The Wesley Daily has posted an entry by Jason Woolever (post-methodist) entitled The Unforgivable Sin. If you read this blog regularly,or if you look over the entries right now, you’ll realize that I don’t post something that just says, “Go look!” all that often, but this is the time for an exception. This is a…
Examples of Textual Issues in Translation
One issue that is commonly neglected in comparing Bible translations is the text used. Translators are well aware that differences in translation can be the result of differences in the text used, but in modern times, the approach to the text used by most translations has been very similar, and thus tends to be ignored…
How the World has Changed
Change is a feature of the modern world. This has practically become a cliche. We have become used to technological change, though we’re still not certain how to deal with it. But there is political change as well, and transportation and communications together tend to speed political change. Newsweek calls attention to one aspect of…
Balancing Old and New
My wife and I often approach things differently. I know that’s a really shocking admission, likely to stun our family, friends, and neighbors. 🙂 We even like different styles of worship services. She tends to embrace new things quickly. I’m rather conservative. I can be persuaded, but you need to prepare a good case first!…