It’s not really a new thing, but in a number of conversations recently, both in person and online, I’ve been noticing agendas. Someone will make a comment or say something in a conversation that really doesn’t seem to make sense in context, but then if you consider a different context, you’ll suddenly see that the…
It is critical to note that the signs Jesus’ gives his disciples are general and vague and always contemporary. War and suffering, famine and earthquakes, persecutions and false Messiahs have not only been prevalent throughout history; they are the also to be witnessed and experienced in the present, and they will be encountered in the…
No, this is not a long dissertation on scripture and its various uses, though I love to talk about that. For many, the purpose of scripture is to keep us on a doctrinally correct path. It tells us the things we are supposed to believe. Simply believing correctly is what’s important. For me, however, a…
I posted the video from my interview with Steve Kindle in my theodicy video interview series. The video is embedded below, and you can find out information on this series at Theodicy Interview Series. The next interview to be posted is by Steve with me, asking me to answer the questions I’ve set up for…
I’ve been working my way through Ezekiel with my Sunday School class, at their request, since I have frequently said that Leviticus, Ezekiel, and Hebrews are the books most formative of my own theology. When this is done, I will have been through all three books with this group. One major difficulty in teaching through…
This is the sixth interview in my series on theodicy (check the link for a full list). Ron Higdon has experienced and dealt with the issues of theodicy practically as a Christian believer, as a pastor, and as a father. His interview is distinguished by his immediate reference to where the Bible starts on this…
I have been called a pessimist. I prefer to think of myself as a realist. When I consider it seriously, however, I often find that I’m more optimistic about results than realism allows. From time to time, I’m told that if I was just more positive about everything, that “everything” would tend to go much…
My Sunday School class just finished a several-week study on the Sermon on the Mount. We did not use any study guides as a class, though I consulted three books I publish, One World: The Lord’s Prayer from a Process Perspective, The Jesus Manifesto: A Participatory Study Guide to the Sermon on the Mount, and…
When I talk to computer customers about security I tell them that I can protect them from many things, but in the end, I can’t fully protect them from the user who won’t follow good security practices. I can try to force the user to follow certain procedures, but as the old saying goes, “The…
It is very difficult to get me to watch any video. Yes, that’s true, even though I create videos and do online interviews on multiple subjects. It’s not my medium of choice. Getting me to watch an hour extends into the impossible. But I watched this one … I recommend that everyone, but especially those…
