Featured Posts
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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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Dave Black on Greek Study Resources
Dave Black suggests ten books for studying New Testament Greek during 2012. Four of these are on my regular list and a couple more are on my reading list. I might work on a list of my own when I’m back in Pensacola with my library. I’ve extracted the list onto The Jesus Paradigm since…
Christmas Message
I’ve posted my Christmas message on my company web site, An Incarnational Christmas Witness. I won’t have time to post anything more here. Merry Christmas!
A Note to Politicians This Election Season
I’m reading about direct mail in the campaign, and soon it will come to Florida. I just want all politicians to know that no piece of direct mail has ever increased my chance of voting for the candidate who sponsored it. Concealing your sponsorship behind a supposedly independent organization (I think they should be legal,…
The Problem with My Church’s Children’s Ministry
My church has a good children’s ministry. I’m impressed every time I hear our children’s minister present a children’s moment during the church service, and every time I’ve encountered the children’s programs myself, including the couple of times I’ve been invited to speak. The children are learning a great deal about Christianity, their church, the…
Worship Music Criticism Criticized
… by Lisa Robinson. And she does a good job of it.
Inerrancy is to Evangelicalism as Inspiration is to Christianity (or Not)
Michael Patton has written a post arguing that inerrancy is not the linchpin of evangelicalism. This post should make me happy, and indeed I am glad that someone is making this claim. Further, Patton makes some very interesting points, including noting that we don’t throw anything else out completely just because of some error in…
How Much Can We Change
… through politics (HT to myself at Under Christ’s Archy).
This Will Make You Feel Better
Anonymous donors are paying off layaway bills at KMart (and occasionally other stores) for those who can’t, especially for children’s Christmas toys (HT: The Agitator).
Christopher Hitchens Dies
I’m sad to report that after years of living with cancer, Christopher Hitchens has died at age 62. I have not personal encounters or recollections to report, but I must admit that, while disagreeing with him on many things, including his stand on the war in Iraq, I appreciated his gift for writing, the one…
Of Virgin Births and Whale’s Bellies
Allan Bevere asks an interesting question today on his blog: Just how important is the doctrine of the virgin birth to you? He titles the post Must One Believe in the Virgin Birth to Be a Christian? I tend to annoy people on both sides of the spectrum (belief in miracles spectrum, of course) because…
Blessings!
Despite this I think I’ll still use it. Sort of like “Peace!” or “Joy!”
No Apologies for Believing the Bible
Mark Kellner (Adventist Review, Dec. 8, 2011) says he makes no apologies for believing the Bible. That’s great. Neither do I. (Jan M. Long responded to this at some greater length than I am on the Spectrum Magazine blog, to whom a tip of my hat.) I don’t usually pick on my former denomination (I…
Participatory Study Series Package for Christmas
We now pause for a brief commercial announcement. My company, Energion Publications, is offering a special Christmas package—all the Participatory Study Series volumes released so far for just $29.99. There are a number of other packages as well, so check out the complete list on Energion Direct. And now back to your regularly scheduled programming….
Fact Checking and Opinions
I’ve previously said a few good things about fact checking operations such as Politifact, but I’ve also noticed a few questionable items where opinion interfered with facts. But today I read the article Lies, Damned Lies, and ‘Fact Checking’, and having looked into this a bit further, I must say that the few issues I…
A Great Referrer
It turns out I’m #22 on the list of the top 40 referrers to Adrian Warnock, a site I listed under five sites I read because I disagree. Glad to help, Adrian!
Scripture Reading
I’m a strong advocate of the public reading of Scripture, so I’ve been following with interest the discussion that Tim Challies set off when he wrote about this ministry at his home church. In his initial post he discussed how those who are to read scripture are trained and makes some suggestions for making one’s…
On Merry Christmas from Last Year
Considering my previous post, I thought I’d call attention to a dialog I wrote for my Jevlir blog on this whole Merry Christmas thing.
On Christians Insulting Atheists
A couple of months ago I got a forwarded e-mail which purported to tell about a court case in Florida. An atheist was said to be complaining about not having a holiday like various varieties of religious folks, and got the ACLU to take the issue to court. The judge explains that he does have…
Controlling the Money Means Controlling the Speech
… and this amendment will limit free speech. I understand the concern, but I believe that people gathered together in groups must have the same freedom, insofar as possible, as individuals. I don’t think creating greater government control is going to have the effect that people desire. We keep creating government agencies, such as the…
NLT Giveaway on Facebook
I just got notice of this giveaway in e-mail. I may get a free gift for telling you, but it happens I already own what they’re giving away. Nonetheless, this looks like something worthwhile to enter, and besides, I like the NLT. To quote: Starting on November 29th until December 24th at the New Living…
The Trials of Mike Licona
I actually didn’t know who Mike Licona was until a few weeks ago, but I’ve discovered that he is a Christian writer who is a strong supporter of the historicity of the resurrection and generally defends the historicity of the Bible. Unfortunately for him, he recently suggested the possibility—just the possibility, mind you—that Matthew 27:51-53…
How Charismatic Am I?
Adrian Warnock is working on a spectrum for determining just how charismatic one is in belief and practice. His initial test seemed to make people more charismatic than they actually are, or perhaps than they consider themselves to be. I took the test, and came out strongly charismatic in belief and mildly charismatic in practice….
Imperfections in Scripture
Lee at The Dubious Disciple generously and kindly reviewed my book When People Speak for God. In that review, he included the following sentence: A discussion of inerrancy follows, and how Henry’s recognition of the Bible’s imperfections has not disturbed his reverence for God’s Word. Now before I discuss this line, let me emphasize that…
Biblical Studies Carnival and Biblioblog Rankings
The biblioblog rankings have been posted, with this blog at #18. Of course, the rankings are available live all the time these days, so I guess the end of month rankings are less important than they used to be, but still …. What surprised me, after not looking at the rankings for some time, was…