Featured Posts
-
Sorrow Like My Sorrow – Lamentations 1:12
Can we really understand the suffering of another person or they ours?
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
Social Notes (see all)
All Posts
Sending out Rejections
As an editor and publisher, I often have the joy of telling an author that their work will become available to the public, because I have decided to invest in it and publish it. That’s very enjoyable. Then there are the times that I have to reject manuscripts. There are more of these than acceptances….
Would I Publish a Creationist Book?
I’ve been promoting the creation book set from my company, Energion Publications. The authors of this set of books all support the theory of evolution. In fact, the contribution made by these books, I think, is that they are talking about how we should live in light of a belief that the “how” of creation,…
Football: I suspect God was indifferent to the ultimate outcome
Bruce Epperly, author of the recently released book Finding God in Suffering: A Journey with Job, questions the view that God determines the outcome of football games (or, I suspect, any other sport), rewarding the faithful and punishing the unfaithful. The title to this post includes his money quote from his post, Is God a…
Sunday Fish Stories
Yesterday was a great Sunday for me, though I still feel as though my previous week never really ended! There are times when I feel that I heard precisely the right message for the time and place, not just for me, but for all there. There’s kind of a sense with a congregation hearing what…
Follow-up on According to John: Making Himself Equal with God
There are a number of points I need to write about to follow up on my hangout from last Thursday night, but first, here’s the YouTube video of the event. I would like to remind you that you can ask questions or comment during the event using the Google Hangouts Q&A feature. Normally I’m also…
Book Extract: Interpreting Experience
The following is an extract from Philosophy for Believers by Edward W. H. Vick, pp. 122-123. I’m the publisher. I was reading this section as I was thinking about my study in According to John tonight (Jan. 22, 2015). How does experience relate to the development of religions doctrine? 8 Experience and Interpretation Question: How…
My Lazy Version Workspace
I’m doing a considerable amount of correction work that requires two monitors, and I didn’t want to spend the hours at my desk or worktable. Thus: It’s good to be my own boss!
The Ethics of Publishing
One of our authors sent me a link to Christianity Today’s article Is Buying Your Way onto the Bestseller List Wrong? In the interest of honesty—and that’s what this is really about—let me note that I’m not playing in the same league as the folks referenced in this article as a publisher. I do work…
Energion Google Hangout on Air Tonight – Creation and Christianity
Tonight at 7:00 pm central time for the weekly Energion Google Hangout on Air I’ll be moderating a panel of four authors. You can find the event information on our Google+ page. The participants are: Dr. Herold Weiss, author of Creation in Scripture Dr. David Moffett-Moore, author of Creation in Contemporary Experience Dr. Robert D….
Better Learn to Live with Technology
Mark Bauerlein at First Things doesn’t like laptops in the classroom (HT: Dave Black Online.) Even the title of the post says something about his view of technology. For what it’s worth, I write things by hand on my tablet. I teach Sunday School using notes, book, and Bible references on my tablet as well….
Quote: Prayers Make a Difference, But
“I think my prayers make a difference, but they’re not omnipotent.” Listen to the whole interview by Doug Pagitt with Dr. Bruce Epperly, author of the recently released book Finding God in Suffering.
According to John: Making Himself Equal with God
The reading is chapter 2 of Herold Weiss’s book Meditations on According to John, Making Himself Equal with God and the scriptures in it. My recommendation is to read the entire gospel of John through each week during this study. The topics are so carefully tied together through the entire book. Here’s the trailer: …
Follow-Up on According to John – The Word Became Flesh
I’m embedding the YouTube of the session below. There were a couple of points on which I didn’t quite say everything I wanted to, or left things a bit unclear. I’m going to post on two topics, and link to them below: 1. Theological Development and Determining Date and Authorship 2. Extreme Basics of Textual…
Follow-Up on According to John: Theological Development and Determining Date and Authorship
In my Google Hangout discussion I mentioned using the development of theological concepts in dating a particular writing. I don’t think I really covered the issue involved all that well, so I’m going to follow up briefly here. My purpose is not to argue any particular position, but to illustrate the issues. If I might start…
Follow-Up on According to John: Textual Criticism
This post relates to my follow-up on my second session of studies on the Gospel of John. First, I’d like you to read my earlier Textual Criticism – Briefly. This dates from 2006, but I don’t see anything I need to correct. I would like to expand on a few points, however. On the matter…
Quote: Philosophers Talk in Obscure Ways
I thought of this quote as I was preparing for my study on John tonight: Philosophers sometimes appear to talk in obscure ways. They do so because they take into consideration what people often overlook. If a poet (Longfellow) can say, ‘things are not what they seem’, the philosopher will give reasons why. The fact…
Link: Did Jesus Perform Miracles?
I’d like to call attention to a discussion on the blog Across the Atlantic regarding whether Jesus actually performed miracles. This blog features point/counterpoint between Antonio Piñero and Thomas Hudgins. We have thus far Part 1a, Part 1b, and Part 2a. I’ll leave it to you to follow if you wish.
Gospels Again
Tonight on our Energion Publications sponsored Google Hangout on Air (completely separate from my series on John), we’ll have a two part program. The first half hour will be an interview by Elgin Hushbeck, Jr. with Dr. David Cartwright about his book Wounded by Truth – Healed by Love. I’ll then be on with Elgin…
Announcing According to John: The Word Became Flesh
This will be the second study. I’m going to mention a few things to think about. The question remains as to how many of these things I will be able to address, but I think it’s worthwhile to consider these in any case. The study will be via Google Hangouts on Air at 7:00 pm…
Follow-Up on Study of the Gospel of John – Introduction
I’ll include the YouTube for my first study session on the Gospel of John below. During my discussion I promised to provide a link for the article I referenced suggesting that the Rylands Papyrus, P52, may be dated a bit too early. The article I referenced is available on Academia.edu, and is titled The Use…
When a Teen Refuses Treatment
My wife has some good comments on a current case. Dealing with cancer in a young person is always heartbreaking. The number of people who are sure they know what the right answer is, is quite astonishing, in my view.
Some of My Own Books on Sale (Gospel of John Study)
The advantages of being a publisher is that I can put books on sale to go with posts. Normally I only do that for things on my company page (Energion Publications), but since I’m starting a study of the Gospel of John on my Google+ Page/YouTube Channel, I’m doing it with a few of my…
Bruce Epperly Interview and Sale
Last night I had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Bruce Epperly, author of several Energion titles out of a total of 28 books he has written so far. Bruce is always both interesting and challenging, and doesn’t avoid the hard questions. We placed his books on a special “buy 2 get 1 free” sale just…
When Should You Talk about Textual Criticism?
I’ve posted a question that originates with Thomas Hudgins over on the Energion Discussion blog. Here are my comments to go with that post. The question has quite a number of implications. For example, if your listeners do not normally look at the textual notes in their Bible translation, they might not be aware of…