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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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Avoiding Self-Centered Hermeneutics
Rachel Held Evans has an interesting post on the way we tend to interpret the Bible differently based on our vested interests. This shouldn’t be a surprise. We tend to interpret everything according to our vested interests. It’s no surprise that we do the same thing with the Bible. In churches, we tend to hear…
Next Steps on Hebrews Outline
I’ve been thinking about the Hebrews outlines, but not posting them. I’ve printed out a copy of my outline and translation and I plan to color code the text according to major themes that I see in the book of Hebrews. It will be interesting to see how well that works. One test of the…
Running to Home Base (Becky Lynn Black)
Dave Black links to an essay from his wife Becky Lynn regarding dealing with cancer. She believes that she’s on the home stretch. A taste: My goal has always been to display Christ to know His calling in the midst of dealing with cancer. We have dealt with cancer as stewards for the Lord Jesus….
Robert Reich on Immigration
Robert Reich exposes some myths about immigration. I’d have a couple of quibbles (I wish “myth” weren’t used in this way, for one thing), but they wouldn’t change the overall result. This is why I don’t worry about immigration. In fact, our paranoia about immigration costs more than immigration, in my view. I favor treating…
Why I Still Don’t Like Inerrancy
Andrew Wilson has a post on The Gospel Coalition (Voices) blog titled Why I don’t Hate the Word Inerrancy. In a certain way I have to agree with his conclusion: But I don’t think the answer is to hate the word. If we were to abandon every word that had been tainted by poor use,…
Of Creation, Evolution, and Worship
There are few topics that get Christians more angry at one another than the subject of evolution. Those who accept a young earth (or young age for the universe) tend to think that those who accept the theory of evolution do it simply because they lack the faith to believe the Bible. To them, this…
The Bible Gives No New Science Revelations
My title is slightly modified from No Scientific Revelation in the Bible, posted by RJS at Jesus Creed, with links in turn to work by John Walton. I think this is an important point. My argument since I was an undergraduate just trying to work my way through these issues, has been that if you…
Three Good Posts on Inerrancy
Why I Hate the Word “Inerrancy” The Bible Isn’t Perfect and It Says So Itself In All Things Necessary to Our Salvation I owe a hat tip to the author of the first one for the links to the other two. All express important points, though there are certain differences of nuance between the three….
Science and Genesis: Allister McGrath, John Polkinghorne, N. T. Wright, John Walton, et. al.
Some very interesting points. It’s only fair that Herold Weiss, whose book Creation in Scripture I publish, would disagree with some of John Walton’s views, while affirming the broader ideas about how to read an ancient text. (HT: Allan R. Bevere)
Colbert Discovers the Real Strategy Behind Data Mining
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David Alan Black on Dealing with Hardship
I posted on my company’s blog today about writing to communicate, but I didn’t cover one important aspect: Transparency. Transparency isn’t a technique or a policy. It’s an attitude and a moral commitment. It says, “I’m not going to lie about how my life is going. I’m going to let people see what is real.”…
The Attractiveness of Etymology
The etymological fallacy is one of the most well known fallacies in biblical exegesis. In fact, many people “know” it who don’t understand it. I was reminded of why etymological explanations are attractive this morning as I was reading Isaiah in the LXX. I came to the word “toparcos” in Isaiah 36:9. Now I couldn’t…
The Old Testament in Hebrews – An Example
I’ve been reading Isaiah through this year following the readings outlined for the Facebook group Greek Isaiah in a Year. This is actually my second time (mostly) through Isaiah in the LXX, though last time I stopped ten chapters short. When I saw this reading plan, I had to decide between finishing my previous start…
Some Comments on Hebrews Outlines
I’ve posted a few links to various outlines for the book of Hebrews, though there are, of course, plenty of others. For summary, here are the main links: Nathan Brown’s Outline My Outline (the one I’m revising) David Reed’s Rhetorical Outline of the Book of Hebrews David Alan Black: The Problem of the Literary Structure…
Benefits of Virtual Schooling
Much as I don’t expect ebooks to replace print completely, but do expect them to take a huge chunk of the market, so I expect virtual schooling will become much more the norm, yet classrooms will still exist. I think for simple cost, if nothing else, virtual schooling will become much more common. How My…
Confirmation Bias?
Allan Bevere writes about the way we tend to see much more corruption in the opposing party than in our own.
Another Link on Hebrews Structure
Dave Black provided me with a link to his article, The Problem of the Literary Structure of Hebrews: An Evaluation and a Proposal, and I wanted to link that here and connect it to the previous post. Without intending violence to the overall value of the article, I found one of the most helpful parts…
A Rhetorical Outline of the Book of Hebrews
Commenter David Reed e-mailed me a copy of his Rhetorical Outline of the Epistolary Sermon to the Hebrews. I’m embedding it here, trying out a new plugin. Besides your thoughts on the outline itself, I’d like your thoughts on how well embedding works. In the next couple of days I will comment on this outline…
A Non-Pluralistic Text in a Pluralistic Age
The Old Testament lectionary text for today was 1 Kings 18:20-39. This text again presents a case in which those who compile the lectionary avoid difficult texts in the way they cut the reading. Verse 39 ends with “the LORD, he is God,” while verse 40 (not read) tells us that Elijah killed all the…
Approach the Throne of Grace with Confidence
I like the term confidence; many prefer boldness. Boldness is an interesting concept in Christianity. I’m taking my title from Hebrews 4:16, and in fact most of my thoughts here are based on the book of Hebrews. I first encountered the claim of boldness when I was quite young, and I heard a taped sermon…
Biblical Studies Carnival Posted
… at Thatjeffcarter Was Here.
Revising my Hebrews Study Guide
I keep thinking I’ll get more regular about updating this blog (or my other two), but things remain hectic around here. If you’ve been watching the announcements from my company, Energion Publications, you have seen some of what my wife and I, along with our team of authors and contractors are working on at the…
My Pastor on Science and Theology
My pastor, Dr. Wesley Wachob, comments on science and theology in his current letter to the congregation, though it is mostly quoted from John Polkinghorne. I wish more pastors would address these issues with their congregations.
Respecting the Text and its Writers
I’ve commented before that ignoring what the Bible actually is does not respect the text, whether God is the author in a direct sense, or the one who inspired it, we still need to see it as it is if we are to respect that revelation. And I suspect that respecting it is essentially to…