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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Incentive Bonuses Equally Divided?
The idea of equally dividing incentive bonuses between all teachers, good, average, or bad apparently makes sense to the Boston Teachers’ Union. They want to block incentive bonuses given to teachers based on performance and instead divide the money between all teachers equally. Note also that the money is coming from private foundations. That’s at…
Christian Carnival CCCIII Posted
… at Crossroads.
Freaking Out About Ayn Rand
As someone who read Ayn Rand starting back in my college days, found her intellectually stimulating, yet disagreed in many ways, I loved this cartoon from Reason.com. (HT: The Agitator)
Progressive Orthodoxy
C. Michael Patton has an interesting post today taken from his introduction to theology students. I would particularly like any number of the folks in the various Sunday School classes I teach to absorb some of the material. This is not because I generally agree. I perceive myself to be both to the left and…
Paul not Lucid
I must confess that quite frequently when I read J. K. Gayle’s writing, I’m quite mystified. But today I was able to interact with what he wrote more effectively in his post Exactly what Paul Meant by “Sarx”. Somewhere around the middle of that post he quotes C. S. Lewis from Reflections on the Psalms…
On Translating to be Understood
One of the experiences that shaped my approach to Biblical languages and Biblical studies occurred late in my first year of Greek. The teacher was Lucille Knapp at Walla Walla College (now Walla Walla University), and she really enjoyed Greek and was quite expressive. She kept us on our toes. I was translating a verse…
The Age of the Earth – Not a Minor Difference
In the good old days when I used to have a seminar on this topic that I used in churches, I had an overhead transparency that showed the age of the earth (along with some of the various geological time periods). This was represented by a line that went the length of the slide. Beside…
NLT Interlinear Beta Available Online
Tyndale House has made the NLT interlinear available in beta form online. It looks interesting. One of the great values of this tool, I think, will be having a dynamic equivalence translation presented in interlinear form. I do want to remind folks of some of the notes I’ve made before on the use and misuse…
On Inerrancy
I respond to some discussion of the doctrine of biblical inerrancy on my Participatory Bible Study blog.
Why Democracy Fails
In Preserving Democracy, Elgin Hushbeck quotes Alexander Fraser Tytler: A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public…
Review – The Second Confession
In this mystery, Nero Wolfe finds himself under attack through one of his dearest things–his orchids. He also finds himself working outside his home, another unusual situation for him. Since much of the action takes place outside of New York City, we don’t have staples such as Detective Cramer, but we do hear about him…
Review – Storm from the Shadows
Storm from the Shadows is a sequel to The Shadow of Saganami, and as such advances the general history in the Honorverse only a little bit beyond the end of At All Costs. I had read some reviews that said that this book ended on a cliffhanger, but I had generally dismissed those. David Weber…
The Real War on Christmas
I received an e-mail from the AFA giving me the wonderful news that the governor of Kentucky has backed down on calling the Christmas tree in the state capitol a “holiday tree” and will call it a Christmas tree. In order to help this happen elsewhere, I’m told to buy packets of buttons, wear them,…
Seeing Things Differently
Reversal is a common theme in the teachings of Jesus. The poor are blessed? The persecuted are blessed? How silly is that? And today we have another reversal in our gospel passage (Mark 12:38-44). The widow who puts in two little coins that might, optimistically, add up to a penny, is the one who put…
How Not to Make Your Point
In his post next time, don’t invite the baptists, Bruce Alderman provides a link to a very unfortunate case in which a Lutheran pastor is put down by a local Baptist church because she is a woman. Let me note here that I am personally acquainted with Baptists who oppose women in pastoral ministry and…
Defining Inerrancy Yet Again
Johnny Esposito, a KJV-Only advocate, states in a recent article (HT: King James Only?) that the basic premise of Harold Lindsell’s book Battle for the Bible can be summarized as: When one questions the inerrancy of the Bible compromise is soon to follow When one changes their position on the Bible compromise in other areas…
Christian Carnival #301
… at Fish and Cans. Lots of interesting stuff.
A Note on Independent Voters
I’m sure it’s a requirement that political commentators try to discover trends in voting patterns. It’s also not surprising that they try to make those trends deal with either the Democratic or the Republican parties. But I think that they simply don’t comprehend the meaning of “independent.” I’m just one independent voter. I won’t register…
Of Apportionments and Stewardship
Bishop Willimon has a post about pastoral leadership and stewardship, with the particular aspect of stewardship being apportionments. I like the framing that goes on in our church, as apportionments are called “fair-share giving.” I know that sounds better, but I still call them apportionments. I think the general finding is unexceptional. Pastoral leadership has…
Idolatry of Apologetics
Todd C. Wood, a baraminologist (he studies “kinds” as in Genesis 1), has written an excellent post about how we Christians often make idols of our particular arguments (HT: The Austringer). Now as far as I can see, Dr. Wood and I would find ourselves on the opposite side of most debates about origins, but…
Interesting NRSV-ESV Gender Usage
The text is Psalm 127:3 – Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. (NRSV) Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. (ESV) The KJV also reads “children.” I’m suspecting that the author of this Psalm was indeed talking about…
On Receiving Copies of Megabelt
It’s always great to receive cases of new books, and yesterday was no exception as our first copies of Megabelt arrived. I wrote earlier (Beware Friends Bearing Manuscripts) about receiving the manuscript for this little book. Since then we have done considerable work with it, produced what I think is a truly unique and creative…
Blogging Contest about the Church
My company, Energion Publications, is sponsoring a blogging contest, which provides you with the opportunity to win Barnes & Noble gift cards and books from Energion Publications for doing what you do anyhow – blogging! Entries are open until November 2, 2009, the day that Dave Black’s new book Christian Archy is released.
Is There a Problem with this Sign?
Does anyone other than me see a problem here? I will reassure you that the gate goes all the way across and so does the mountain of dirt. The only through traffic will be the road destruction equipment.