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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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Can Scripture Be Its Own Interpreter?
I’ve been thinking a bit about this common statement, and I think the answer is both “yes” and “no.” And therein lies a significant problem, if not several! I recall an online discussion some years ago with a gentleman who maintained that one should always take what he called the plain meaning of the text….
My Goal in Fostering Dialogue
I get this question quite frequently: What are you trying to accomplish? If it’s not presented as a question, it’s presented as an assumption. Here are some major options: My goal is to advance a liberal theological agenda, i.e., to make people more liberal by getting conservatives to listen to or read liberal opinions. My…
Finding What We Expect
Last night after my discussion of eschatology, in which I mentioned that we tend to discover what we’re looking for in scripture, I returned to the house. Now I think this warning is important. We need to check our questions. On my hub site, henryneufeld.com, I use the slogan “helping you find the right questions.”…
Eschatology: Surveying Symbols and Sources
Tonight I’m giving myself permission to ramble in my presentation. “How will that be different?” you ask. I would imagine largely in that I won’t feel guilty while I ramble! There are few areas that demonstrate differences in views of biblical inspiration and interpretation than eschatology, whether we mean end-time events or our own end-of-life…
What the Bible Really Says? Really?
I opened my mailbox today to be greeted by a slick flyer inviting me to discover what the Bible really says about a variety of things. Among the the questions I’m told I can get answered: What is the future of our country during this economic downturn? What does the Bible really say about the…
Beginning My Eschatology Study
Last week was the closing session in my online study of the gospel According to John using Herold Weiss’s book Meditations on According to John: Exercises in Biblical Theology. I now turn to a new subject, eschatology, and will start with the book Eschatology: A Participatory Study Guide by Edward W. H. Vick. The reason…
Completing My According to John Study
At the beginning of the year I began a journey through the gospel According to John, using as my guide the book Meditations on According to John by Herold Weiss. I began this study largely for myself. I admit it. My motivation was selfish. I wanted to force myself to stick with the study week…
Explaining the Difference Between John and the Synoptics
In the comments to my announcement for Thursday night’s interview with Dr. Herold Weiss there was a comment that included a question. I missed it and failed to ask it during the interview. I e-mailed it to Dr. Weiss, and he sent me a response. Since this ties into the topic of the interview, I…
From My Editing Work: Neglecting the Gospel
This is from the forthcoming book The Incredible Shrinking Gospel by Lee Wyatt. Formatting progress doesn’t allow me to tell you the precise page number. Oddly, his [Jesus’] ministry as we find it in our canonical gospels suffers considerable neglect in North American churches at present. Conservative churches tend to find their theological center in…
According to John: Final Interview with Herold Weiss
Well, I hope it’s not my final interview ever, and since we’re going to announce his next book, already under contract (and I have a preliminary manuscript in hand!), it likely won’t be. But it’s a wind-up interview for my study of According to John using Dr. Weiss’s book Meditations on According to John. You…
According to John: Abide in My Love
It has been that kind of a day. I apologize for not posting this earlier. You can find out more about this discussion on the Google+ Event Page or view it using the YouTube embedded below.
According to John: Where Are You From
I’ve been planning to create some short notes on John, discussions of topics about which I’ve gotten a number of questions. I recorded the first of these today, and here’s the embedded YouTube video: Tonight I’ve decided that I will focus much more on the trial of Jesus and the relationship between ritual, symbol, and…
Papers from the Pericope of the Adulteress Conference
They are announced, publication in April 2016 by T&T Clark.
Another Note on the Eucharist Celebrated Weekly
… at least. Bob Cornwall shares a bit on this topic, including, of course, a link to his book in Energion’s Topical Line Drives series. I often don’t like John Calvin, but I do like this view of the Eucharist. I don’t see the need for some kind of physical description, but I do believe…
Last Night on the Tuesday Night Energion Hangout: Stewardship
Pastors and church leaders cringe at the “s” word, because so many members don’t want to hear about it. Sometimes they blame the members for not wanting to dedicate their wallets to the Lord. But is that precisely what we should be asking church members to do? I think the resources to carry out the…
Talking about Getting Published
Tonight on our Tuesday night Energion hangout, Jody and I will be talking about how to get published, particularly by Energion Publications, but also with some general ideas. Join us at 7:00 pm central time tonight, July 21, 2015. Go to our Google+ Event Page for more information or watch using the YouTube embed below….
According to Mark with Drew Smith
I had a great time yesterday interviewing Drew Smith for my study on the gospel of John. I wanted to talk to him about how one “does” biblical thelogy and do some comparisons between John and Mark. Drew is very knowledgeable, having written his dissertation on a narrative critical reading of the gospel of Mark…
According to John: Interview with Drew Smith
We had lots of audio problems last time we tried, so we’re trying again! Tonight (7/16/15), Drew Smith will be my guest on my study of the gospel according to John. Drew got his PhD in New Testament from the University of Edinburgh, and wrote his dissertation on the gospel according to Mark. Tonight we’ll…
Choosing Pastors and Church Continuity
Last week I encounter two posts that got me wanting to say something about the same topic: pastoral leadership and church mission and continuity. The first was The United Methodist Church Should Give Up Its Game of Musical Chairs, and the second was not obviously related, 5 Reasons Why the Sunday Sermon Is Boring (both…
And There It Is!
I’ve been fascinated by Pluto since I found out it existed way, way back in prehistoric times. So here it is. I’m looking forward to closer images after the flyby. SNEAK PEEK of gorgeous Pluto! The dwarf planet has sent a love note back to Earth via our New Horizons spacecraft, which has traveled…
Guest Post: Thoughts on the SDA General Conference Decision about Ordination of Women
I thought about commenting on the recent vote by the Seventh-day Adventist General Conference on allowing it’s divisions to choose whether to ordain women. As an ex-SDA, however, and one who works with people on both sides of this issue, I thought it might be a bit rude. I just received the post that follows…
According to John: Jesus Wept
I’ll be discussing this tonight at 7:00 pm via Google Hangouts on Air. You can find out more on the Google+ Event Page. You can also view using the YouTube viewer below:
Finding Boundaries: Confessional Schools and Exploration Related to Publishing
At least I’m going to relate it to publishing. Which, if you think about it, is what I do to almost everything. J. R. Daniel Kirk has announced he will be leaving Fuller (James McGrath comments here). You can get a feel for Dr. Kirk’s comments in Homosexuality Under the Reign of Christ on the…
Notes on Allan Bevere on Worship
Allan Bevere posts on worship, calling for it to be well-crafted, authentic, and substantive. I quite agree. But … Two additional points: 1) One of the most authentic worship services I ever attended occurred when the praise band failed to show up and one individual put a transparency on the projector (yes, it was THAT…