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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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Is the Church Dead?
This blogger thinks so. I think he has a point.
Earth from Space at Night
Wow! (HT: The Agitator)
By the Way, It’s Not a Debate
It just isn’t. It’s not even a very good joint news conference.
What Could Be More Dangerous than Liberalism?
If you let your eyes wander up to the header you’ll see that my tag line includes the word “liberal” and not in a negative light. I’ve even written about being a liberal charismatic believer. So if you’re wondering how I can use both labels at once, follow the link. But in certain circles, “liberals”…
A Note on Hebrews 1:3 (Orthodox Study Bible)
I’ve said enough negative things about the Orthodox Study Bible that I need to mention when I find it quite helpful as well. Generally, this is when it is either quoting or referring to various church fathers. In the note on Hebrew 1:3a, “who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of…
Ephesians 3 in The Voice
Well, I continue to read The Voice and it continues to annoy me. But first let me note that in reading Ephesians 3 I don’t find anything that will lead you astray in your understanding of the chapter. In many cases the material in italics just seems unnecessary. In other words, the translators have already…
Biblical Studies Carnival Posted
… at Sansblogue, and an excellent and fun carnival it is. It even includes a link to this very blog, which is unusual for the Biblical Studies Carnival.
Ephesians 2: The Radical Nature of the Gospel
As I’ve been reading this passage repeatedly this week, I have been repeatedly struck by the radical nature of what Paul is saying here. I’m surprised we don’t spend more time on it, because it seems to me to clarify many things that are left unclear in Galatians and Romans. Of course, considering the discussion…
Rachel Held Evans, Owen Strachan, and Adrian Warnock Went on a Radio Show
It wasn’t as funny as if they’d gone into a bar, but it was considerably more enlightening. It might appear that having two complementarians against one egalitarian was unfair, but Rachel clearly had no problem with the format, and the host pointed out that, though he was playing neutral moderator, he was more inclined to…
Bleeding Heart Libertarians and Austrian Economics
I found this video enlightening. I like to note that I read von Mises before I met (encountered her writings) Rand. Rand is a cultural phenomenon, but von Mises is a deep thinker. In any case, this is an interesting interview. The more libertarians pay attention to this, the better, in my view. I’m a…
UMC Pastoral Accountability: What About Bishops?
United Methodist Insight led me to Jeremy Smith’s article, Defeating the Dark Side of Church Metrics. I recommend the second link because of comments. Since one commenter talks about people who oppose accountability but who receive their paycheck from the church, let me note that I am a United Methodist layman, and I do not…
No to Blasphemy Trials
I agree with Joel Watts. Christians must protest this charge of blasphemy against a Muslim for desecrating a Bible. Blasphemy laws, no matter which way they are targeted, are not good.
In Reporting Polls, Please …
… always consider the sampling error when you report the difference between successive polls. News organizations have been getting some better, in my subjective view, in noting when a result is within the sampling error in a particular poll, but they still report increases or decreases in a lead without that note. If a candidate…
The Great Energion Political Roundtable Continues
… with answers to Question #6 from four Energion authors and one other blogger/book reviewers. Remember that all are invited to join in!
Adrian Warnock – List of Complentarian and Egalitarian Texts
Adrian Warnock has produced a list of texts that speak to the complementarian/egalitarian debate. Having looked over the list I don’t think it’s all that bad. In fact, it includes a number of key texts and stories that I would have included in any such list—had I been inclined to create one. The problem is…
Timo S. Paananen on Forgery Detection
James McGrath links to a PDF by Tim S. Paananen demonstrating some problems with forgery detection via literary parallels. I’ve kept largely silent on the issue of the authenticity of The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife, because I don’t read Coptic and I’m simply not well enough acquainted with the various methodologies that would be required…
Sunday School Notes – Ephesians
We’ve completed the first two lessons of Bob Cornwall’s study guide (Ephesians: A Participatory Study Guide) in my Sunday School class. I planned to write some notes earlier, but I’ll try to catch up. These first two lessons complete the first chapter of Ephesians. There’s quite a lot of material just in the first couple…
How Not to Convince Me
I saw two approaches to political persuasion today that I find particularly unpersuasive. This is besides the truth-limited ads that fail to persuade me every day. 1) Someone on Facebook posted a note that a particular claim was false. I should go to a particular website to learn the truth. The site? Her candidates web…
Psalm 1 and Two Ways
We often read the Psalms legalistically, i.e. all the discussion of the law leads us to believe we’re talking about some sort of righteousness by works, or better earning God’s favor through accomplishing certain works. If we read Psalm 1 as a sort of flat discourse rather than as structured poetry, we can easily read…
Jerry Coyne on Criticizing Religion
Despite the obvious difference in our beliefs about religion generally, Jerry Coyne is precisely correct in his comments on the right to criticize religion. He’s also right to point out that however obnoxious some critics of Islam are—face it, that recent video is just bad—that doesn’t compare to actually killing people. Yet somehow we’re supposed…
1935 Series Dollar Silver Certificate Without …
… “In God We Trust” on the back. See This is NOT a Counterfeit Bill at Yahoo News. I’ve always found the idea of putting “In God We Trust” on our currency to be mildly blasphemous. In our money is precisely where we trust God the least. And that’s in our personal finances. When we…
Study Bibles and The Voice
I think I’m beginning to understand why my original positive response to The Voice Bible has turned to one of annoyance. If you haven’t been a reader of this blog for long, you many not realize that I try to give Bible translators very wide lattitude. On the front cover of my book What’s in…
Media Distrust
Gallup reports that U. S. Distrust in Media Hits New High. Unfortunately, I suspect this distrust does not reflect a dismay at the amount of inaccurate information and a desire to get accurate information whatever the cost. I suspect that it’s more because of the large number of partisans who think their party, candidate, or…
Are You Preserving Holy Bricks?
There’s an insightful article on the Spectrum Magazine web site titled Holy Bricks. This one deals particularly with Seventh-day Adventist bricks, but the principles discussed apply anywhere. I have yet to encounter a community that doesn’t have a few holy bricks to deal with. I particularly liked the point where a constituent in a meeting…