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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David Ker – Gay Africa
David Ker has taken on the world at ThinkChristian.net, or so it probably seems to him. The comments provide some additional links and some vigorous comment.
Quote of the Day – On Leviticus
… Byu inculcating worship patterns that emphasize mind over body, word over deed, and rational thought over “merely” reflexive sacramental systems, all legacies of the Protestant Reformation, religious communities learn to be at home in the cognitive, typically abstract world of theological ideas. Ritual invites something different: the active participation in “embodied” theological reflection. Both…
All #1 Meme
James McGrath has proposed a meme, and it even got past my prejudice against memes. He asks for a phrase that makes your blog #1 in the Google search results. I found “she-bears homily” which finds my post which is a proposed a homily given the scripture on Elisha and the She Bears. I don’t…
Most Popular 10 Posts of 2009
Here are the ten most popular posts of 2009, as determined by my wp-stats plugin: Does Gordon Fee Discard Part of the Bible? ESV vs KJV (Better Bibles Blog) Suppressed and Talking about it Everywhere Criticism Example: The Parable of the Sower Translating Psalm 46 Seventh-day Adventist Education and Evolution Can Anyone Identify this Spider?…
Most Popular 10 Posts of 2009
After noting that on my Jevlir Caravansary blog, two of the top ten posts were editions of the Christian Carnival, which says things about the traffic on that blog, I was gratified to note that all of the top ten posts here are ones that I wrote rather than compilations of links. When I split…
Todd Wood – the Evolutionist?
A few weeks ago I mentioned that I had started reading Dr. Todd Wood’s blog (using the title Another Honest Creationist). The reason I call Dr. Wood honest (as opposed to some other creationists) is that he acknowledges that young age creationism relies on the Bible and specifically on a particular understanding of the early…
Biblioblogs Rankings
Someone new has provided Alexa rankings for the Biblioblogs for the month of December. Joel Watts suggests passing this around in order to keep up the competition. I think it would all be fun if less people fought over the whole thing. It’s a bit of fun competition based on some rather loose stats, not…
Is Intelligent Design Religious?
David Opderbeck has an excellent post on the question of whether intelligent design (ID) is religious and how this relates to our view of natural theology. (HT: Through a Glass Darkly) In the post, he gets into an issue that I have raised before, which is the question of whether we really want to advocate…
Is Inerrancy an Essential Christian Doctrine
Obviously I don’t think so, but I must now add C. Michael Patton to the list of those who do accept the doctrine of inerrancy themselves, yet don’t believe it is an essential of the Christian faith, which he does in his humorous “AND OTHER STUPID STATEMENTS” series, If the Bible is not Inerrant, then…
Comments for NIV Revision Committee
Wayne Leman reminds us that comments for the NIV2011 revision are only open until the end of December. I never can make a final decision on these things, which would make me a lousy translation committee member, but if you have suggestions now is the time!
Glad to Have THAT Settled!
Are dogs smarter than cats?
Can Education Keep Up
One of the things I think has not been discussed enough in the current job situation, though I think President Obama has done extremely well on this one point compared to his predecessors, is the simple fact that jobs for minimally educated people are disappearing, and thus many of the new jobs that are being…
Blocking a Federal Education Grant
While I know that some forms of determining merit pay for teachers can be unfair, in general I think tying pay to performance is an excellent, indeed necessary idea. Now the Florida Education Association is trying to block $700 million in grants from the federal government because it’s tied to incentive pay. Bad idea, I’d…
Patriarch Bartholomew on 60 Minutes
Watch CBS News Videos Online HT: Allan Bevere.
Reconciling the Gospel Genealogies
There are generally two reactions I hear to this in Sunday School classes and church pews–it’s either fascination, as if the genealogies make or break the Bible or complete indifference, as in “who cares?” Both reactions miss the point. Matthew and Luke are each making a point, and they are making it in a way…
New English Translations Poll
I’ve posted a poll for discussing the need, or lack thereof, for new English translations. This post exists solely for comments on that poll. Note that multiple answers are permitted in case one is not double-minded, but perhaps a bit fuzzy.
Changing Polls
No, President Obama’s approval rating; the poll that I have in the right hand sidebar. It has been there for more than 18 months, and surprisingly enough is still generating interest. The last comment is dated December 19, 2009 and there have been quite a number. You can see the results here. Who does God…
Sumerians Witness Creation
This is too funny (from The Onion). HT: Exploring Our Matrix.
Credit Card Companies Find Creative Ways to Get Your Money
If this surprises you, then you must not have been dealing with bankers and credit card companies that much. Might this also be part of the reason that regulations tend not to work all that well? You have to think of everything, but if you really plug all the loopholes, the result will be tightened…
Advent Conspiracy
Here’s a conspiracy I could get on board with!
Ed Brayton on the Hidden Tax Argument
And I think he pretty much demolishes it as an argument. It is, of course, quite valid to calculate the cost of some policy and then ask whether the result is worth the price, but the simple statement that their is a cost accomplishes nothing. One further note I would add. Just because jobs are…
Mark Olson on Pelagius and Eastern Orthodox Theology
The one devastating charge that is leveled frequently at Arminians is that we are Pelagians. Since the teaching of Pelagius was condemned well in the past, this is supposed to either shut us up or send us into a spasm of defending ourselves from the charge. As far as I’m concerned, call me pelagian or…
Jim West Justifies Biblioblogging as an SBL Affiliate Group
In this case, it’s the first thing that has really made sense to me. I largely ignored the previous discussion on this topic, falling under the “who cares?” group to which Dr. West refers. I remain less than totally enthusiastic, but I do see the value in identifying scholarly participation on the web. I normally…
Christian Carnival Call for Posts
I’ll be hosting the next Christian carnival over at my Jevlir Caravansary blog. Please check out the directions and nominate some posts. I’ll even look at the comments to this post for nominations.