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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 Moment with Brevard Childs on Exodus
I’ve appreciated the work of Brevard Childs since I first encountered him via his Isaiah volume in the Old Testament Library series.I just finished with the first section in his Exodus volume (see below), and I have to say that I find it even better. Childs takes note of source and redactional issues, but subordinates…
Diversity in Worship
This is another one from those in my former denomination, but again it speaks to everyone, I think. Diverse Unity in Adventist Worship. I think this could speak to worship for anyone.
When One Issue Drowns Out Others
After interviewing Allan R. Bevere a few days ago I discovered another video. First, here’s my interview with Allan. We were talking about the United Methodist Church General Conference in 2019 looking for a way forward as a denomination with regard to same-sex marriage and related issues. The new video is from the Adventist News…
Jacob’s Ladder as an Example of Grace
I believe that God’s grace is taught as much in the Old Testament (or Hebrew Scriptures) as in the new. The key element here is that Israel was never called to obey in order to earn God’s acceptance, but rather were offered God’s acceptance and then called upon to obey. One of the problems with…
Slippery Slopes
There are a few terms that are quite true and yet misleading in many actual uses. I like to cite “Christians aren’t perfect; just forgiven.” Precisely true, but in common use very likely an excuse for ordinary bad behavior. Whatever the intent, it ends up sounding like, “I’m a Christian, so I can do whatever…
What’s Old about the Old Testament?
Many years ago, more years than I will admit to, I went into a Jewish book and supply store and requested a copy of the “Hebrew Old Testament.” I recall vividly the look on the store clerk’s face, and I apologized, but it’s not an error that you can recover from easily. To a Jew,…
Free Will and Hardening Hearts (Romans 9:14-24)
This is a follow-up to my last Wednesday night’s (November, 2018) discussion from Romans 9 at Chumuckla Community Church. The passage cited is not my suggestion of a good division of the material in Romans 9, but rather is just where we started and ended up. I did have to look back to verse 13…
Why Christians Should Embrace Science
First, of course, we should ask why anyone should embrace science*. It’s not because: Science is perfect Scientists are without biases and always produce objective truth The results of science are never in error Science can decide everything for us I’m reminded of the quote, “The perfect is the enemy of the good.” Frequently people…
Voting Tomorrow
Let me first warn you that this post contains nothing whatsoever that’s exciting. 🙂 Well other than the three interviews I conducted with Energion authors about the election. Tomorrow I will go to my polling place and cast my vote. I’m a traditionalist. I go to the polls on election day. I’m happy that there are…
Link: We Don’t Really Know
I really like this article about detecting deception from FiveThirtyEight.com. Of course, I should note that it totally supports my own view on the matter, as held before I read it!
United Methodists for a Gracious Exit
This is something I can support: United Methodists for a Gracious Exit. No matter what we do as a church, we need to be gracious to others.
Argument Test
Whether you’re using an argument against someone’s position, or dealing with application of a text, try it out against yourself. As in X said A contradicting Y who said B. Response: “X has been known to lie/be wrong.” Would you accept “Y has been known to lie/be wrong” if you held position B?
Getting What Was Said
It can be hard to go from a text to a sermon. The line from past to present can be hard work. But at the root, one must hear clearly what was said. Dave Black looks at a text.
Outrage
Being outraged about everything has a similar effect to being outraged about nothing.
Preparing to Teach Romans Tonight: Quote
From Meditations on the Letters of Paul, by Herold Weiss: Jesus’ faith in God is what gives life to sinners. This point is made in another famous Pauline confession: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh…
Free Press
The nature of a free press is not that it is always right, always responsible, or required to print what any person or group wants, but that it is free. It can challenge authority and it can be challenged.
From My Reading: Isaiah 10:1-4a
Woe to the enacters of unjust enactments, to the writers of harmful laws, who separate the poor from judgment, so they can rob my needy people of right, so widows can become your loot, and orphans your plunder! What will you do on the day of accounting, when calamity comes from afar? Where will you…
You Are a Politician
If I get an ad in the mail from your campaign asking me to vote for you, you are a politician. I don’t mind that you are a politician. I consider that a potentially honorable profession, but I object when you lie about it.
Connecting the Unhooked to the Word
Dave has some interesting points here. Love for one another doesn’t disconnect us from the “other.” A genuine church might attract genuine people.
An Observation: Accuracy of Perception
An observation: Whether considering theology or politics, almost none of my liberal acquaintances resemble the image of them as portrayed by my conservative acquaintances, and almost none of my conservative acquaintances resemble the image of them portrayed by my liberal acquaintances. Whose vision requires correction?
Reading, Studying, Discussing, Teaching, and Proclaiming but not Practicing
I was struck by Dave Black’s note on Hebrews 4:14-16 from Wednesday on his blog. I extracted it to jesusparadigm.com, as Dave’s blog is a journal that doesn’t offer links to individual posts. (I have his permission.) I highly recommend his post. It struck me because Hebrews is such a central part of my reading…
Biblical Studies Carnival 149 (June 2018)
Biblical Studies Carnival 149 (June 2018) has been posted at Reading Acts, and I was somewhat shocked to find a link to my own blog when looking through for nifty scholarly articles on topics of interest. Somehow my rantpost about church buildings got a link. Yay!
Measuring a Liberal Bias in Psychology
Before I get to the article I’m linking from them today, I want to emphasize something important. I like numbers, yes, but you have to be careful. The reason for this is that you have to understand how the numbers you’re liking were produced.
On John Wesley and Total Depravity
I’ve drawn some questions and produced some amusement (from Calivinist friends) by using the term “total depravity.” Listeners were surprised to hear a Wesleyan use that particular term. “Sinners,” “sinful,” and similar terms, OK, but total depravity? I have previously heard people remark that total depravity isn’t Wesleyan, so as United Methodists we don’t believe that….