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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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More on 1 Corinthians 14:34-35
… at Evangelical Textual Criticism. (See also Dr. Platypus.)
Managing Evidence for Evolution
I think that nearly everyone who has debated issues about creation and evolution has been disturbed by the breadth of the topic. Sometimes you provide evidence X, only to have someone point out that what you just presented doesn’t prove Y, not to mention Z. The theory of evolution is many-faceted and really incorporates many…
David Ker is Bored
Well, at least he’s finding the blogosphere boring. He finds that there are only two interesting Christian bloggers left, James McGrath and Eddie Arthur. What’s interesting is that, while I don’t seem to generally agree with David as to what is interesting, I agree with him that those two bloggers are very interesting. I read…
Counting the Independents
Each election various pundits and politicians seem to be surprised at the way independent voters swing. I think they have a bit of a problem comprehending the word “independent.” I am a bit wary of using “we” when discussing independents, but as an independent voter myself I am generally not that shocked by the swings….
Martin Luther King Day 2010
Two personal experiences shape my thoughts each day on Martin Luther King day. The first was the memory of those in our small north Georgia community who were gratified that he had died. Few of the young folk had any idea why they should think that way, though we had regularly had “scares” that there…
Epiphany 3 in The Mosaic Bible
While none of the Mosaic Bible texts [Holy Bible: Mosaic NLT (Meditations)] overlapped the lectionary texts for today, I think it was quite appropriate, if coincidental, that the texts chosen deal with dealing with the poor and outcasts. The texts were Leviticus 19:1-18, Psalm 119:33-40, James 2:1-7, and Luke 6:27-42. These passages emphasize that our…
Biblioblog Rankings Update
Jeremy at Free Old Testament Audio is continuing tinkering his system for acquiring and displaying the rankings, and thinking about how to decide who belongs on the list.
Taking Offense Easier than Logic and Evidence
Kevin DeYoung makes this claim at the evangel blog. Amongst many good things, he says: For starters, being hurt is easier than being right. To prove you’re offended you just have to rustle up moral indignation and tell the world about it. To prove you’re right you actually have to make arguments and use logic…
Introduction to Numbers – Cornerstone Biblical Commentary
I’m trying to return to my pattern of posting short notes from my morning reading. My schedule has been disrupted recently to the extent that my “morning” reading sometimes has taken place in the evening. But today I moved from Leviticus to Numbers in Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (Cornerstone Biblical Commentary), and I read the introduction….
Three Commentaries on Leviticus
I just compared two commentaries on Leviticus on my Participatory Bible Study blog. In addition, I’d like to link to my older review of Jacob Milgrom’s three volume commentary on the same book. From that review: The only possible adjective for this commentary is “incredible.” It is not just long (2,468 pages of text), but…
Leviticus – Two Commentaries Compared
The first is by David W. Baker, one of three in Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (Cornerstone Biblical Commentary), which is based on the NLT text. The second is Samuel E. Balentine, Leviticus (Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching). Yes, I have been reading both of these commentaries simultaneously, though in different portions of Leviticus….
N. T. Wright on Genesis 1-3
Some excellent thoughts at the BioLogos Foundation blog Science and the Sacred.
Bob MacDonald on Psalm 119
Psalm 119 is one of my favorite (at least top 10) passages in the Bible, especially since I had to memorize it (in the KJV) back when I was about 12 years old. Bob MacDonald is writing a series on it in Hebrew that is well worthwhile following. Start with his first post.
Jubilee and Care for the Poor
I was struck by a comment made by David W. Baker in his commentary on Leviticus (Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy [Cornerstone Biblical Commentary]), p. 194-195: … Protection of life and dignity through a shared distribution of wealth was also known and practiced in the early church at Jerusalem (Acts 2:44-45), though not in relation to any…
Quote of the Day – Balentine on Ritual in Leviticus
From Samuel E Balentine, commenting on the tamid in Leviticus 6:13 and elsewhere in Leviticus (Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching), p 65: … All religious rituals are more than practical or even symbolic acts, as important as these may be. At their core, rituals are a form of liturgical exegesis that engages…
Pat Robertson on Haiti
I’ll let Polycarp (The Church of Jesus Christ) comment on it. I’ll just say perhaps he should be more careful ascribing motivations to God.
Some Mideast Churches Vote to Ordain Women
Read the full story on The Christian Post. This is an interesting development, especially considering the region involved.
On Haiti
When I heard that there had been an earthquake in Haiti, my immediate thought was “Oh no!” I haven’t really known what to write about it. I can analyze it theologically, but that won’t change the body count and my odds of getting it right don’t seem all that good. I think I will just…
A Good Paraphase
It makes a good reminder!
More on the Khirbet Qeiyafa Inscription
Douglas Mangum has some important new links and notes, particularly on the tendency to try to build too much on the reconstruction of a single inscription. The cautions that apply here could be well applied to most discoveries, and generally are not, and likely will not be. Caution and deliberate consideration are valuable!
New Perspective on Paul and the Book of Hebrews
Nijay Gupta has a short interview with Gordon Fee regarding his new commentary on Galatians (HT). Since I have an extremely high regard for Gordon Fee’s work in general, and for his commentary on 1 Corinthians (which I cite frequently) in particular, I’m certainly planning to get my hands on a copy of his work…
A New Biblioblogs Ranking Incarnation
Jeremy Thompson has taken up the task with a script. There immediately follows the inevitable question of just who is a biblioblogger. I had only been on the previous list for two months when it went belly up–or not, as the case may be, so I’m not sure if I’m a “real” biblioblogger or not….
Your Brain on Inerrancy
This video is cute and edgy and well-produced. It has all the characteristics that make a good YouTube video. Since I also don’t accept the doctrine of inerrancy, what is the problem? I think it perpetuates the equation of biblical literalism, the verbal dictation view of inspiration, and the doctrine of inerrancy. I have a…
Parents are Key to Science Education
Jonathan Smith, Vice President of Florida Citizens for Science (of which I am a board member) presents a column on science education in Florida today in the The Ledger (Lakeland, FL): A key quote: Parents are the ones who must endeavor to help shape their children’s future by guiding them down the paths of interests…