Featured Posts
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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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Peter Enns on Cosmic Conflict in Genesis and Exodus
It’s a great article on the Biologos Foundation’s Science and the Sacred blog.
Fallibility, Inerrancy, and Mystery
I think Mark at Pseudo-Polymath is absolutely correct in his excellent post Of Scripture and Tradition. When I first decided that inerrancy didn’t work, it was because I found errors as they would be defined by the people that first taught me to regard the Bible as inerrant. At the same time I remained convinced…
Essence Restored on the Repeal of Don’t Ask – Don’t Tell
He thinks Christians should support the repeal, and explains his position very clearly.
Congratulations Ken Brown of C.Orthodoxy
Head on over and congratulate Ken Brown. He’s headed to Göttingen, Germany for his doctorate.
Can One Be a Bibleist?
I received a link to the following video in a tweet from @TheActiveWord. It seems so closely related to my last post that I’d include it here: There are several things I agree with here. First, I do believe that the Bible has the sovereignty of God and the responsibility (of which some sort of…
Biblioblog Rankings for January
Thanks to Jeremy for doing all the work. I’m at #8 amongst some pretty great company!
N. T. Wright on Hell
An interesting short discussion.
Few Knew Health Care Bill Got No Republican Support
I don’t think this is a major issue against the Republicans, in the sense that I don’t think they should be criticized for managing to be united in opposing something that they, well, oppose. That’s good politics, and if they really do oppose the bill (and I’m not certain about some of them) it’s honest…
Surfacing again after Server Work
I’ve been working on servers both for my personal and business sites. I think the results are largely good, though due to the speed with which I did the work I keep finding glitches I need to correct. I have also marked quite a few items in my RSS reader for links or comments, so…
Hebrew Codices for Download
Seforim Online provides downloads of some pretty nice stuff. I downloaded Codex Leningradensis. Details at Awilum.
Opinions, Interpretations, and What the Word of God Says
There’s one use of the phrase “just your interpretation” that implies that no interpretation is better than any other. This is often used by people who have no idea how a particular text should be interpreted, but nonetheless feel like rejecting your interpretation in particular. Either they think all interpretations are equal–a common idea these…
Biblioblogger Amazon aStore
Jeremy at Free Old Testament Audio has created an Biblioblogger Amazon.com aStore and is creating lists of books by various bibliobloggers, including yours truly. I encourage you to head over and check it out and consider buying through his links if you plan on buying any of those books. Jeremy has been doing some nice…
Christian Carnival CCCXII Posted
… at M and M. Check it out!
Server Move
This was a lateral move with the same provider, but still the database was physically moved. If you commented over the last 24-48 hours and your comment is missing, it was most likely due to the move. If you are seeing this, you can go ahead and comment and your comment will not be lost.
Greg Boyd Tells Mennonites to Go to Hell!
Read about it here. My ancestors were Mennonite, so perhaps I should be offended. Not so much! His own title for the post ends with “… and they liked it.” He was asking them to go storm the gates of hell, i.e. areas of the world that are under the dominion of Satan. He suggests…
Server Problems with Two Blogs
Besides this blog, I also blog at Participatory Bible Study and Jevlir Caravansary. Those two blogs are suffering from server problems. I’m in the process of transferring them to another server, as this has been a frequent problem recently. As the new DNS information finds its way through the internet (or even before, should the…
Supreme Court Favors Free Speech
That title should illustrate the interesting types of headlines that have heralded the Supreme Court decision permitting advocacy ads by corporations and presumably unions in the time leading up to an election. The one from CNN reads Supreme Court eases ban on business, labor political spending, which is fairly calm and tells us approximately what…
Yes is No and No is Yes
… or at least that’s what Democrats in the Oregon state legislature tried to say. This is six months old (HT: The Agitator), but it’s too good not to post. Consider the wording in the bill: “A measure referred to the people by referendum petition may not be adopted unless it receives an affirmative majority…
Gossip vs. Flattery
… at AdrianWarnock.com.
On Haiti Ministry
I posted a note on my company blog about a personal connection.
A Snake-Handling Baptist?
Dave Black posts a picture of his colleague Alvin Reid (look for 6:56 AM, Thursday, January 21), who appears with Dave’s favorite reptile (and I assume Alvin’s as well, but what do I know?) It looks to me like the Baptists are descending into snake handling. Who could have predicted that? Actually, the occasion is…
Christian Carnival CCCXI Posted
… at Fish and Cans. At least I think it’s 311.
Is it Necessary to Know the Biblical Languages?
I previously answered this question for myself here, but there’s a good and gracious answer today from Brian Fulthorp. I would repeatedly emphasize that there are many advantages to knowing Biblical languages. There are some areas and methods of study that really are closed to you if you don’t know the languages. Having said that,…
The Biblical Basis for Mission
Eddie Arthur has a fascinating post on language development and mission, particularly relating this question to the language development work of Wycliffe Bible Translators. I was particularly struck by this paragraph: An alternative way to view mission is to start with the character and activity of God as revealed across the whole of the Scriptural…