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
In Case of Murder, Attack Some Metaphors
I haven’t yet commented on the shootings in Tucson. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims, all of them, not just those in federal service. I’m concerned when people are killed because of senseless or unnecessary violence wherever that occurs. I don’t say this to diminish the importance of an attack on a member…
Bible Memorization and Reading
When I wrote about different approaches in reading the Bible I left an important one out–memorization. I was reminded of this when writing an e-mail to some friends and quoting scripture. I quoted the KJV and wasn’t even aware of it until I’d completely quoted the text. So what does quoting the KJV have to…
Ephesians 3:1-12 – To the Rulers and the Authorities
This is from the Epiphany 1A lectionary. This passage interested me because of the reference to revealing God’s wisdom to the authorities in the heavenly realm through the church (Eph. 3:10). The reason for this interest is the “great controversy” theme that I grew up with as a Seventh-day Adventist. The foundation for this is…
Why is This Translation Important?
Because obviously the most important thing about being a man is the way you use the bathroom. Potty training issues, maybe? (This is the second time there’s been a video of this guy preaching this. I blogged about it earlier here. Hat tip for this round: Abnormal Interests).
Listening to Whose Voice(s)
Quote of the day: The sin of the church too often is to listen to the voice of those already in it. We let the comfortable voice of the familiar become the voice of God. Breaking free of that sin is necessary. But replacing one human voice with another is not the same as following…
Evolutionary Links
James McGrath has an interesting crop of evolutionary links from the blogosphere today.
William Barclay Commentaries Dangerous
So declare the Catholic bishops of Vietnam. I find it hard to see why, but that’s because I don’t think books that teach doctrine different from my own “dangerous.” I would call a couple of paragraphs in Barclay less than fully accurate, but there are some paragraphs that are positively brilliant, which is all one…
Approaches to Bible Reading
I want to list some attitudes to Bible reading and some approaches with a brief discussion. I may choose to post some more on this. I think there is too much of an either-or approach to how one goes about reading the Bible. Different times may call for different methods and attitudes. Fast Reading (Overview)…
Alden Thompson: SDAs and the Charismatic Experience
Ellen G. White Image via Wikipedia Since I grew up as an SDA and later got involved in a somewhat charismatic stream within Methodism, I found this article by Alden Thompson pretty interesting. It’s not surprising, however, that the SDA movement, which arose in the mid 1800s, had some charismatic elements. The funny thing for…
How Certain is Science?
Rationally Speaking has a great article on the uncertainties in scientific research and what they mean about science. I think a good deal of the problem here is that people expect certainty, and science doesn’t provide this. Occasionally one can get near certainty, but absolute certainty is elusive. On the frontiers of medicine, especially, you’ll…
Guns in the Home
No, not that kind of gun! Image via Wikipedia In general I support gun ownership rights, though I think these rights are easy to carry to excess. Are reasonably thorough background checks really a form of denying someone their rights? Does one really have the right to carry a gun almost anywhere? I think there…
Searching for the Antichrist
…or not. David Ker’s random chapter for the day was Ezra 1, and he has a great quote: Let me go out on a limb here and say that Christians spend too much time looking for the anti-Christ when they should be looking for the Messiah. We do well to remember that God is the…
Time Spent in Bible Study
I’ve created a new poll. I’d like to get an idea of how much time people spend in Bible study, average, per day. This is not really aimed at Bible professionals (teachers, preachers, and such) and many of my readers come from those classes, so that will probably skew the answers again. This came up…
Do We Need More English Bible Translations?
Allan Bevere suggests we don’t, and we need to stop making them. I’ve had a poll about this on this blog for over a year (now on the lower left of the footer), and the results are interesting: [poll id=”2″ type=”result”] I will be closing that poll and substituting another one. I would prefer that…
David Ker is at It Again!
David Ker has started an interesting series. As usual, he’s doing something very different, and the result is some interesting posts. He uses a spreadsheet to randomly choose a chapter from the King James Version and then he writes a post about it. He has an announcement about the series, and I’d suggest his post…
New Jersey Wants to Seize Gift Cards
… if they’re not used after two years. What can possibly make this a good idea? (HT: The Agitator).
On Continuation of the Gifts
I was interested to find this post by Craig Adams, looking at some quotes from John Wesley on the continuation of the gifts. I find myself in general agreement with what Wesley says here. The extraordinary gifts are possible, but not commonplace, nor are they required. The primary evidence of the Spirit is the sanctification…
Ephesians: A Participatory Study Guide
I try to publish some reflections on each book that my company, Energion Publications, releases. Sometimes it takes me few months after release, but I try to get to it sooner. Please be aware that while I will say some things I might say in a review, this is not a review, and is intended…
Responding to Adrian Warnock on Arminocalvinists
I’ve had Adrian Warnock’s post, An Arminocalvinist Spectrum, sitting in my starred items for some time, but I do want to write just a few words about it before I move on. But first, I want to note that Adrian Warnock is one of the Five Sites I Read Because I Disagree, and I’m on…
Righteousness of God Redux
Just over three years ago I wrote a bit about the New Perspective on Paul, and particularly the interpretation of the righteousness of God in 2 Corinthians 5:21. I would still call my understanding of this a work in progress. There are many things I should read and assimilate yet. At the moment, however, I’m…
An RSS Feed for Dave Black
Dave Black discusses RSS feeds, of which he has none: 12:18 PM Yes, yes, yes, let’s hear it for RSS feeds! You may have bookmarked this blog, and/or other blogs and webpages. But you have no idea when new content is posted. So every now and then you click your bookmarks to see what is…
Christmas 2A – Celebrating Redemption
That’s a pretty obvious theme, but it would seem even more odd to skip it! The second Sunday in Christmas is a good day to commemorate these events. There are a few different items that strike me here. The connection of the return from exile with the redemptive mission of Jesus. This shouldn’t be surprising,…
Keeping Up with the Church Year
One of the great benefits of using the lectionary, especially for major days during the church year, is that it helps us keep these various days in context. It’s easy for Christmas to be simply the holiday of giving, the one that allows us to sing all that good music and have some parties. Keeping…