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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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Child of God Living
Note: I wrote this for my wife’s devotional list for today’s (12/30/05) entry. Jody puts out an e-mail devotional every weekday, and has also created a collection for her book, Daily Devotions of Ordinary People – Extraordinary God. I’ve included an ad (Amazon.com) for the book and a link to subscribe to the e-mail list….
Inspiration and Canon
I’m back to thinking about inspiration today. Many people think about the terms “inspired” and “canonical” as nearly synonymous. Generally they are not. The term “canon” relates to idea of canon law, in other words a book is canonical when canon laws defines it as authoritative. Now the edges have become blurred over the years,…
Eschatological Living
I’ve been doing some discussion of the prophecies of the book of Daniel recently on the Compuserve Christian Fellowship Forum. The discussion there is about the Seventh-day Adventist doctrine of the investigative judgment and the time prophecy of Daniel 8:14. But that is not what this post is about. As I reviewed the many related…
How Inspiration Works
There are quite a substantial number of theories about how God inspires people to write his message. Several people have suggested recently that I collect some of my own essays in order to provide a coherent discussion, not just about the results of inspiration, but also the process. I don’t think I’ve written enough about…
Medicine Cabinet Christianity
17So that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have gone, everything has become new. — 2 Corinthians 5:17 (TFBV) For I did not choose to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. — 1 Corinthians 2:2 (TFBV) One morning as I approached the cabinet in…
Birth to Resurrection
Typically we talk about salvation around Good Friday and easter. We are saved by his death and his return to life. And there is certainly something to be said for that. But this constant focus on the sacrifice of Jesus being largely in his death sometimes obscures other meanings that the Jesus’ life, death, and…
Santorum Distancing Himself From Intelligent Design Law Firm
Fox News has a current story on Senator Rick Santorum and the intelligent design controversy: FOXNews.com – Politics – Santorum Distancing Himself From Intelligent Design Law Firm. The senator is quite right that the case provided a bad set of facts for the desired result. In fact, the facts of the case practically guaranteed that…
Ministry of Reconciliation
I’ve been kind of beating around the bush about the doctrine of the incarnation and what it means as a challenge to Christians. So let’s get down to business. The roots of my view here are in the two commands of Jesus–love for God and love for one’s neighbor (Matthew 22:34-40). These commands are defined…
Metaphor of Incarnation
It’s unlikely that anyone has failed to notice that I have spent no time thus far in trying to demonstrate that the doctrine of the incarnation is true. I’ve just been playing with its meaning. In fact, I generally don’t find it appropriate to try to prove a mystery in the first place. Let’s just…
YOU Teach Your Children
There are plenty of comments on the Dover decision going around right now. I’d like to recommend just a couple of them, though these are only examples of many good comments. Both provide some good links to more information. Best Possible Result in Dover Caught in their own Wedge I believe that the result of…
What God Gets in the Incarnation
We’re so used to talking about what God gives in the incarnation that my title may almost seem sacreligious to some readers. God’s gift cannot have a selfish aspect, can it? Does the cord really have two ends in this case as well? First, at the simplest level, all relationships have more than one side…
The One-Ended Cord
Some years ago I worked for Radio Shack. One function of a salesman is to match the customer to just the right item or part. An elderly lady, clearly not too comfortable with technology, came in to buy a “telephone cord.” Now at the time, “telephone cord” could mean any of a number of things….
Your Unforced Choice
A few days ago my wife and I were showing books at a church craft show, when I was approached by a gentleman about my book What’s in a Version? “What was the right version to use?” he asked. Now when someone starts talking about the “right” version, rather than the best, I’m fairly certain…
Highway Memorial Crosses
In scanning through news today I watched a segment on Fox News about a lawsuit asking that crosses erected as memorials in Utah be removed from the roadside. I did not find the story on their web site immediately; perhaps it will be posted later. But I did find two other links that I think…
My Current Reading
OK, those of you who are looking for an essay can wait for another post. I just want to talk about a few books that I’ve been reading lately. My reading tastes are quite varied, and normally I surprise someone. I include fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and occasionally some more current fiction in my pleasure…
Reacting to the Word
My wife asked me to write a devotion for her devotional list and I thought it would make an excellent entry for this blog as well. 26Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named Nazereth, 27to a virgin who was engaged to be married to…
The Clergy Project
Wesley Elsberry, on The Panda’s Thumb reports that the Clergy Project is nearning its goal of 10,000 signatures. As I write this, I see that it has attained that goal. I encourage all of my clergy friends to sign this document. It is not only protecting the teaching of science; it is protecting religious education…
Hanging Your Interpretation
I have just added a new essay to my collection on Biblical interpretation, entitled Hanging Your Interpretation. I have needed to write this essay for some time, as I often suggest using the procedure described, but have never presented any sort of detail about how it should be done. I am often asked for quick…
God’s Wrath and ID Rejecters
Robertson warns Pennsylvania voters of God’s wrath Robertson is just too easy a target, but I do want to take this opportunity to point out that the situation in Dover is a bit more complicated than acceptance or rejection of God. For example, I’m a Christian who believes that the entire universe and everything in…
Protecting Doctrinal Turf
There’s a church I drive by pretty regularly. They have a quite prominent sign, and on the front of their building they have a list of doctrinal positions held by their church. I used to think it was a singularly unwelcoming sort of thing to put on the front of a church. During Hurricane Ivan,…
Evolution Slate Outpolls Rivals – New York Times
Evolution Slate Outpolls Rivals – New York Times Intelligently designing voters designed a new school board. Though many votes were close, the sweep was apparently universal. I’m very pleased to see that the voters can make an intelligent decision like this. It is my hope that this becomes an example for the rest of the…
Must I Give My Life?
Your browser must not support the IFRAME tag! Does the command of Jesus to love one another mean that I have to give up my life? I’ve been involved in debating that issue over the last couple of weeks on the Compuserve Religion Forum.. It seems to me that the issue is not very debatable,…
The West Wing Debate
CNN.com – ‘West Wing’ candidates clash in live debate – Nov 7, 2005 I really enjoy The West Wing. As a show, while they have had many episodes I think were mediocre, they have also had shining moments in which they project an image of what politics could be like, and really should be like….
The Importance of Small Actions
Recently Rosa Parks passed away. Many people mourn her passing, and rightly so. She made a major difference in American life. But in another sense, the attention paid to her is strange–not “bad” strange, but “good” strange. We tend to notice people who do the big things, the spectacular things, the very public things. We…