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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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Welcome!
I’m Henry Neufeld, and I have been blogging on Threads from Henry’s Web since September, 19952005. This new blog is specifically for me to follow my heart which is in critical and exegetical Bible study that leads to exposition and application. I’m the author of two study guides, To the Hebrews: A Participatory Study Guide,…
Escambia County Wins in Court
In an article titled Park could face extinction, the Pensacola News Journal says that Escambia County officials have closed Kent Hovind’s Dinosaur Adventure Land because of their failure to follow county ordinances. County commission chairman Mike Whitehead was justifiably unsympathetic. The argument being used by Hovind and his ministry is one that is completely invalid,…
Home and Church Education
As intelligent design (ID) propnents complain about censorship and freedom of speech, one thing is being ignored: They are getting their message out to the public, and any scientist who wishes to examine their data, should they care to provide some, can acquire the material should they desire to do so. In addition, high school…
Another Note on Deuteronomy 32:43
In my previous post on this passage I stated that I was ignoring one textual issue that was really quite minor, but on thinking about it, it seems to me that it will illustrate one of the points that makes textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible different. We have relatively few Hebrew manuscripts, and most…
Textual Issue: Deuteronomy 32:43
Previously I listed a couple of doubtful translation choices in the Hebrew Bible and gave my preferences on them. Here are a couple more that I regard as much more certain. I also gave an extremely brief introduction to textual criticism in Textual Criticism – Briefly. Praise, oh heavens, his people*, Worship him, all you…
The Danger of False Assumptions
Every so often it’s fun to look through an ICR document or so. It’s so nostalgic, considering that this was the sort of stuff that I found very convincing when I was young. I would like to emphasize that this is not by any means the definition of Christianity. It’s just some of the noisiest….
Consider the Alternatives
Is Extreme Makeover: Home Edition some kind of exploitation? This seems to be the best thing some in the media could think of to ask of this positive reality show. I don’t like reality shows in general, but I do like this one. Joe Scarborough interviews Melissa Caldwell of the Parent’s Television Council on his…
Christians and Defamation
One who covers up hatred by lying, And one who spreads defamation is stupid. — Proverbs 10:18 (my translation, but try any version you like) I’m often interested in the portions of the Bible that some Christians think they must follow, and what portions many Christians think they can avoid. For example, right now many…
Zimmer: The Sixty-Million-Year Virus
I only do this every few weeks, but I wanted to make sure that “Threads” readers noticed this wonderful article on The Loom. (Hat tip to Dispatches from the Culture Wars, where I saw it first.) I really don’t have anything to add on this one, but I do challenge young earth/old earth creationists to…
Some of my Best Friends are Atheists
. . . but I wouldn’t want my daughter to marry one. You can replace “atheists” with any of a number of groups, and that’s a saying that underlines a manipulative approach to human relationships. There’s exploitation on the one hand because such friendships are often solely for the purpose of getting something out of…
Genre and Canonical Criticism
Continuing my discussion of Biblical criticism and the tools that make up that method, let’s look at genre and canonical criticism together. I do that, because they look generally at the same point in the production of the text as we have it, but look in different ways at that point in time. We have…
God is Creator of Everything
In a previous post in my series on Christian view on origins, Biblical Doctrine of Creation, I listed six elements of a Biblical doctrine of creation. I need to specify this more precisely as a Biblical doctrine of creation based on the Christian Bible and on one or another Christian approach to Biblical interpretation. Excursus…
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 convertÂ’s 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…