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Fire – Lamentations 1:13
Discussing the symbolism of fire in scripture, highlighting its dual nature as both a sign of divine acceptance and judgment. It reflects on personal suffering and God’s sovereignty, emphasizing that while God’s fire can refine and cleanse, it often accompanies lament and discomfort, aligning with the broader pursuit of righteousness.
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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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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…
James 1:13 – Tempted by Evil?
In the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament on James (my review) the suggestion is made that apeirastos kakwn should be translated as an objective genitive, as “tempted to do evil.” They oppose this to a subjective genitive (“tempted by evil”) or one alternative which does not involve a new way of reading the…
When Do You Get On Board?
Christian Girl at College has an answer: Now! Oh, well… I can’t do that now. I’m too young; I’m not really in control of my life – my actions. I’ll change after college, when I’m on my own. It’ll be a big turning point. That’s the perfect time to start being the Christian I want…
Biblical Studies Carnival LVIII Posted
The Biblical Studies Carnival has always been somewhat above your average blog carnival, and the December carnival at kol-haadam is above the average even for a Biblical Studies carnival. One nice feature is a separate listing for book reviews, which I have to mention since it links to a review of Ephesians: A Participatory Study…
December Biblioblog Rankings
I choose to link to Jeremy’s list, for no better reason than that I’m on his list. I’m back up to #23, which is probably the result of actually writing a few posts. Thanks again to Jeremy for maintaining these rankings.
Spiritual Fitness in the Army
I find the very phrase “spiritual fitness” in any context other than a voluntary group, such as a Bible study, prayer, or meditation group, very troubling. What makes one fit can find such incredibly odd definitions. When I was in the Air Force, I was told by a supervisor that if I did not go…
Praying Without Ceasing and Hyperbole
Mike Sangrey has a post on translating 1 Thessalonians 5:17 at Better Bibles Blog where he suggests “Don’t stop praying!” would be more accurate than “Pray without ceasing,” which is what most of us are used to hearing. He arrives at this conclusion by looking at various uses of the Greek word in question (adialeiptws)….
Father-Daughter Blogging …
John Meunier and his daughter are blogging through the book Almost Christian. It looks like it will be worth reading.
Now THAT Would be an Interesting Presidential Race
Obama vs who?
Another Note on Design
Image via Wikipedia Since I hadn’t commented on the Intelligent Design controversy for some time, I want to add a couple of notes to what I said yesterday. I absolutely believe in design. I believe everything is designed by God. I believe God is involved in everything. In teaching on this subject I have occasionally…
On the Design Inference
I’m definitely going to follow this new series on Science & the Sacred. The first post is Why Dembski’s Design Inference Doesn’t Work. Part 1. I’ve rejected the design inference on the grounds of garbage-in garbage-out. You can’t determine how likely a chain of events is when you don’t know what events constitute the chain….
Wesley’s Rules for Preachers
Joel gives us John Wesley’s Twelve Rules for Preachers. Which of us can live up to these?
Putting up Barriers to Ministry
I empathize with Alan Knox’s post today, Help or Get Out of the Way. He relates two experiences of church leadership standing in the way because they required people to go through existing church programs. This is not the way to go about Christian ministry. Come to think of it, it’s not even the way…
Book Review: Genesis Unbound
Sailhamer, John H. Genesis Unbound: A Provocative New Look at the Creation Account. Sisters, OR: Multnomah Books, 1996. Note (January 11, 2017): I just discovered while writing about Dr. John Sailhamer’s death, that there was a new edition of this book published in 2011, shortly after I wrote this review. My interest in this book…
Hallelujah Chorus – Quinhagak, Alaska
Some friends of ours sent a link to this video. They have worked in the area and know many of the places. Hallelujah Chorus -Quinhagak, Alaska
Review of James in the Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament Series
I’ve published my review of the excellent volume on James in the Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series on my Participatory Bible Study Blog.
Another Ham in the Family
No, not that kind of ham, a ham radio operator. Congratulations to my nephew Jason who went straight to Amateur Extra class, and is now AE7JH. That makes a total of five Amateur Extra class operators in my immediate family, Mom (Myrtle, WB7OIU, who wanted to keep her old call when she made Amateur Extra),…
Merry Christmas!
I’m not going to write a Christmas post here, but I wrote three of them on my Jevlir blog, where I write a bit of fiction. They are: About Those Small Town Values The God-Talk Club and Merry Christmas You Will Have a Son Enjoy!
Linking the Birth of Our Nation with the Birth of Our Savior
Chuck Baldwin maintains that the birth of our Savior and the birth of our nation are closely linked. I’m afraid I don’t get it, even allowing all his facts, some of which I would dispute. I just don’t see the parallel between the guns of the revolution and the Babe of Bethlehem emptying himself of…
On Reading the Old Testament
A note from The Reluctant Evangelist.
List of Recent and Forthcoming Commentaries
… at Parableman. Looks comprehensive and useful.
Greetings from the Religious Arm of Socialism
In a blog post My Dream: No More Methodist Church, Judson Phillips of Tea Party Nation fame says that his dream is that there be no more Methodist church. What set him off was a church sign (on a Methodist church, of course) urging passage of the DREAM act. He says that the church is…
Tyndale NLT Contest
I received the following e-mail from Adam Sabados of Tyndale: Dear Bloggers, I wanted to fill you in on an exciting contest that is currently being run and sponsored by the New Living Translation. We’re highlighting three ministries, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Oasis International, and The Dream Center, (click on the link to learn more details…
A Christian Officer and DADT
Lt. Col. Stacy L Maxey has written a letter to Stars and Stripes indicating that he has plans to violate military regulations following the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Or something like that. Actually it’s hard to tell precisely what he plans to do. One paragraph of the letter reads: Here’s the truth: I…