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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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Christianity and Panentheism (YouTube Video)
My sister sent me a link to a video that I thought was helpful in some ways on this topic. Probably the most important thing here is that panentheism, process theology, and open theism are separate theological positions. Often two of these (panentheism + process & panentheism + open theism [less commonly]) may be held…
On John 3:14-21
In my According to John study I looked at this passage in some detail. Bob Cornwall is looking at it today in a rather good Lectionary meditation.
Fred Craddock Sermon in Memory
Well, I hadn’t heard him (as I posted a bit ago), but then Dave Black put this YouTube on his blog. I had to share it. My pastor does take a great deal from Fred Craddock, and acknowledges him just about every Sunday.
Remembering Fred Craddock
That’s the title of a post by Bob Cornwall, a friend and Energion author. He is actually remembering the man, whom he has heard preach. I never heard him preach, and I haven’t read any of his books, but I have gotten a strong dose of his stories through Dr. Wesley Wachob (First UMC, Pensacola)…
Dave Black on the American Dream
I just extracted a post from Dave Black’s blog and put it on The Jesus Paradigm. For those unacquainted with Dave’s blog, I do this so that I can get a permanent link, and I have his permission to do so. Dave asks some important questions. How do our values impact the way that we…
An Example of Doing Biblical Theology (Mark)
Drew Smith, author of Energion title Reframing a Relevant Faith, has posted an article, Mark’s Presentation of Jesus’ Vindication and Exaltation as an Act of God, which shows some of the nuts and bolts of biblical theology in process. Drew will be my guest on my study of According to John on April 16 to…
According to John and Psalm 82 Last Night
I’m embedding the viewer here. I spent a great deal of time on Psalm 82, and I think that trying to do that just straight talking until I was out of breath may not have been my best choice. I’ll consider posting further on Psalm 82 and John 10:34 here in writing and hopefully clarify…
Every Word from the Mouth of God
A commenter on my post Words from the Mouth of God asks: Would you please comment on Matthew 4:4 in this connection. Yes, and it’s a most helpful passage to bring up here, and it suggests quite a number of things to me. I’m going to look at the application in connection with what I…
Video Repost: Idolatry and Trust
My sister was going through my older YouTube videos and called my attention to the one titled Idolatry and Trust from six years ago. It relates to some of my more recent comments on God in my study on John. I’m amused to watch myself in this, as I clearly had a written transcript and…
According to John: Who Is This Son of Man?
I’m running a little behind today, so I’m just going to give you the link. You can check out the details via the event on Google+. The YouTube viewer is embedded below.
Words from the Mouth of God?
In comments to an earlier post one reader notes that there are those who call the Bible “words from the mouth of God.” I respond that I do not think the Bible is words from the mouth of God, but rather the testimony of people’s experience of God. There are those who think I diminish…
Energion Hangout this Evening
Using Google Hangouts on Air, I’ll be interviewing Energion author William Powell Tuck (The Last Words from the Cross, The Church Under the Cross, Journey to the Undiscovered Country, and many more) regarding the season of Lent, particularly as it relates to those who are undergoing trial and testing, those who suffer, and those who…
Hebrews: Authorship and 6:1-8
Thomas Hudgins links to a post in which someone supports Luke as the author of Hebrews. The post to which he links indeed supports Luke, but I find a number of other things somewhat more interesting. The topic is Hebrews 6:1-8, one of the more controversial passages in scripture, and the title is An Enduring…
I Didn’t Know They Had a Feast
Today, says Allan Bevere, is the feast of John and Charles Wesley. The source of this is The Lectionary Page. It is, however, listed amongst the Lesser Feasts and Fasts. (It’s an Episcopal site. What can I say?)
Book: I’m Right and You’re Wrong
When I started Energion Publications just over 10 years ago, my primary interest was in Bible study materials. My goal was to get the people in our churches to study the Bible more, and to do so for themselves. My complaint about much of the material available was that it was often shallow and repetitive,…
Was Jesus Really a Healer?
By this question, I meant to ask whether Jesus actually cured people of illnesses, not whether he accomplished spiritual healing. I asked the question of Dr. Bruce Epperly, author of the book Healing Marks, when I interviewed him last night in an excursus to my series of studies on the gospel According to John. Here’s…
Are Panentheists Atheists?
Updated 17:09 central time to fix video link. Last night I interviewed Dr. Bruce Epperly, process theologian, as an excursus to my study of According to John using Google Hangouts on Air. I’m following the book Meditations on According to John by Dr. Herold Weiss, but I wanted to talk to Bruce about his book…
Reminder: Interview with Bruce Epperly on Healing, Panentheism, Process Theology, Truth, and …
I’ll be interviewing Dr. Bruce Epperly on these subjects tonight in a Google Hangout on Air. I note with interest that some of these questions have come up in a post by James McGrath on Exploring Our Matrix, which in turn, links back to one of mine. It must be a hot topic! Come join…
Serious about Whose Faith
I was mentioned by Ed Brayton (blogs at Dispatches from the Culture Wars) in a comment to a post on Facebook, and made a couple of comments myself. Here’s the Facebook post: There are two things here that interest me. First is the claim that moderates and liberals don’t take their faith seriously. This is…
Date and Authorship Notes
Two weeks ago I participated in a conversation with Elgin Hushbeck, Jr. regarding how scholars determine date and authorship. Readers who consult more than one Bible Handbook, Bible Dictionary, or introductory material from more than one study Bible will find that there can be considerable variation in the information regarding a particular book. Elgin and…
According to John – Excursus 1 – Interview with Dr. Bruce Epperly
Thursday night will represent an excursus in my study through the gospel of John, as I interview Dr. Bruce Epperly, author of the books Healing Marks and Process Theology: Embracing Adventure with God, about the healing stories of Jesus. We’ll be discussing what it means to say that Jesus was a healer and we’ll likely…
Tuesday Night Energion Hangout
Using Google Hangouts on Air, I will moderate a discussion on Tuesday night titled Biblical Essentials. What are the essentials of the Christian faith, and why are they essential. If you’d like me to ask our panel a question, put it in a comment, or log in to Google+ during the hangout and use the…
Did Jesus Give the Great Commission?
Thomas Hudgins, writing on the Across the Atlantic blog he shares with Antonio Piñero, asks whether the gospel commission is original with Jesus, i.e., did Jesus say these words. I’ve been thinking of writing a post about historicity in general, though I’ve been focused on the Gospel of John, which I’m working through in a…
The Bible: Translation of Translations and Copy of Copies
A couple of weeks ago I was asked to teach a Sunday School class on the history of the Bible. Teaching a class on how we got the Bible in about 50 minutes requires some serious decisions; you can’t cover everything, but you want to cover the most important thing. At one time I would…