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Sorrow Like My Sorrow – Lamentations 1:12
Can we really understand the suffering of another person or they ours?
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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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Impartation: In Which I Say I Was Wrong
For those who are not familiar with it, impartation, at least in charismatic circles refers to passing on a gift, or even on occasion a calling or anointing when one person or persons lays hands on another. I’m not going to try to summarize the various views on this. First, I’m not fully acquainted with…
Nobody is above Question
There are two dangerous attitudes in the church, and I suspect in any human endeavor. One is the idea that certain leaders are above question. In the church the words “touch not mine anointed” (going back to the KJV, Psalm 105:15, and we could discuss the context) are often used to express this idea. This…
A Brief Venture into the Practical
Oh, we don’t have to keep it brief. My friend Greg May (also an Energion author, Crewed Awakening and It’s in the Toolbox) wrote a great post this morning about application. There’s nothing wrong, in my view, and much good about learning the nuts and bolts of the Bible. I’ve encountered an attitude similar to…
Jesus Is Not on Your Side
I’ve been watching the responses to Bill O’Reilly’s book Killing Jesus. Note that I said I was following the responses. I haven’t read the book and don’t intend to. I can’t stand listening to its author and I don’t feel any obligation to subject myself to reading his words. My attitude parallels Allan Bevere’s. I…
The SDA Chaplain of the Senate
The Adventist review has a taste of Barry Black’s testimony, which makes excellent reading (HT: Dave Black Online). As an ex-Seventh-day Adventist I find his story very interesting. In his career, he was fighting not just racial but also religious discrimination. Some people thought he shouldn’t be in his positions because he was black. Others…
Piacular View of the Atonement
I ran headlong into my lack of explicit theological training today while studying Hebrews. (Yes, I’m still working on my revised study guide.) Now I’m certain that I’ve run into the word “piacular” before. The reason I can be so certain is that this is the second time I’m reading James Moffatt’s commentary on Hebrews…
Book Notes: Linguistics for Students of New Testament Greek
I try not to call what I do here “reviewing” as I don’t really try to provide an academic review. In fact, I might do better to call these “Ramblings after Reading.” In the case of this book I need to provide an additional caveat. Dave Black is a friend, and I publish several books…
Will Tithers Have Medical Expenses?
Pat Robertson puts his foot in his mouth so frequently that it almost seems unfair to go after him for it, but in this case he makes the type of statement that simply must be corrected. I know quite a number of people who would be susceptible to what he says here, and then would…
Confessional School vs. Freedom to Explore
Peter Enns’ post, “If They Only Knew What I Thought” struck a chord with me and at the same time called up one of my concerns, or perhaps I should say areas of conflict. I lived through this growing up as a Seventh-day Adventist and being educated in Seventh-day Adventist schools. In fact, I made…
The Numerous Authorship Proposals for Hebrews
I was reading this morning from the introduction to Moffatt’s commentary on Hebrews in the International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, Ltd, 1979), and found an interesting quote on the variety of proposals for the authorship of the book. Few characters mentioned in the NT have escaped the attention of those who have desired in…
Adrian Warnock – Evolutionary Spectrum
I always find it interesting when Adrian Warnock produces a spectrum on some topic. I almost always disagree with some point on the spectrum, but the exercise is worthwhile. After all, if I produce a spectrum, there will doubtless be people who disagree at some point. This time Adrian has produced a spectrum on beliefs…
Fervent Prayer and Praying in the Spirit
Dave Black provides an extract from his forthcoming book on the Seven Marks of a New Testament Church. In it, he refers to praying in the Spirit, noting that some exegetes say this refers to praying in tongues. He doesn’t deny that possibility but says it is broader than that. While I believe that praying…
Letting the Holy Spirit Teach
I’ve been meditating a bit on letting the Holy Spirit be the teacher. There’s an interesting corollary to letting the Holy Spirit teach—letting other people learn. You see, what we often want to do is to “let” the Holy Spirit teach other people what we already know, and what we think they need to learn….
Off to the Printer – The Authorship of Hebrews: The Case for Paul
Just sent another book to the printer, in this case The Authorship of Hebrews: The Case for Paul by David Alan Black. I’ve heard some comments about my motivations for publishing this little book (just 42 pages). Money was mentioned, along with a burning desire to uphold traditional views. Those who know me will probably…
I Know Less about Prayer than I Used To
Today I extracted a paragraph from David Alan Black’s blog (I have his blanket permission), just so I could comment on it. He notes: I often ask myself, How can I write anything about prayer? I’ve still got so much to learn about it! I am in sympathy with his comment. My wife and I…
Syria: To Intervene or Not
Religion News Service provides us with some comments by the experts on the ethics of intervening in Syria (HT: UM-Insight). Now I am neither a theologian nor an ethicist, so I wouldn’t claim to be able to parse all the issues in deciding whether an intervention is just. In fact, I find many of the…
Welcoming Visitors
Allan Bevere has some excellent notes. As someone who has visited many churches, and experienced just about all of what he describes, I can just say “Amen!” Don’t smother. Don’t ignore. Be helpful!
23 Signs I’m an Introvert
At Huffington Post. Well, about 21 of these apply to me.
Mark Alluding to Judges, and a New Blog
David Lincicum, “University Lecturer in the Faculty of Theology and Religion, and Caird Fellow in Theology at Mansfield College, Oxford” (About), has a new blog. Well, new to me. It’s been around for several months. It looks interesting. Today he posted on a possible allusion (my term) to Judges in Mark in his post Trees…
Aim It at Yourself First
One of the key things I say in teaching Bible study is: “Aim it at yourself first.” Now that’s a hard one to follow, and it doesn’t mean one can never discover what a text means for someone else. Rather, it’s a focus. I need to look at what I need to change. You need…
God and Human Suffering
Bruce Epperly challenges us to think more carefully about God and human suffering in his Adventurous Lectionary for the week. Takeaway: Adventurous theological reflection challenges images of God as unilateral punisher and bully. These images are unworthy of Jesus of Nazareth.
The Conclusion You Want
It was one of those great days in seminary, and I was in a small class studying prophets from the Hebrew text. The professor favored following the consonantal text as written. (For those unacquainted with the Massoretic text, there are occasions when something is specified “to be read” [Qere] that is not as it is…
Duped on Ekklesia?
On God Directed Deviations Miguel posts You’ve Been Duped! Ekklesia Does Not Mean “Called Out Ones.” He quite justifiably identifies the etymological fallacy. But in the comments, some folks are not so sure and don’t really see the issue. I can see why they don’t see it. As I’ve pointed out before, there’s a reason…
Cessation and Continuation
Dave Black posted some notes on the difference between being a cessationist and a continualist (his term). I agree with his comments. Most commonly when we talk about “cessationism” we are talking about the gifts of the Spirit. Do these gifts, particularly the more spectacular of them, continue to operate in the church today? (I…