Featured Posts
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
Social Notes (see all)
All Posts
A Survey
My wife received a “survey” from the Republican party. Now let me make one thing clear up front. I have seen polls from Democrats that follow this same pattern. This isn’t an issue of one party or another. This survey purports to seek the opinions of the “Neufeld Household” (though of course it is not…
Christian Carnival CCXCIV Posted
… at Codex. I encourage Christian bloggers to get involved by submitting their best work each week and volunteering to host.
Hearing 2 Corinthians
When I wrote about 2 Corinthians and the importance of story, I had not read this wonderful post. (HT: John Meunier.)
Dynamic and Cognitive Equivalence
Paul Helm of Helm’s Deep tries to take a philosophers approach to a discussion of dynamic equivalence in translation, and does not do a good job. My primary complaint is that, in apparently trying to clarify definitions of different translation procedures he fails to define the term he uses most, cognitive equivalence, while seeming to…
Family Pride and Amateur Radio
I just got the news that my mother and older sister have passed their Amateur Extra examinations with flying colors. My sister received a 100% grade, making a clean sweep of the exams for her. This makes five extra class amateur radio operators in my immediate family: Dad – Ray Neufeld – KT4B – silent…
The Problem with Revenge
It’s 9/11 and the events eight years ago are on most people’s minds. Many Christians will be praying today, as my wife wrote in her devotional. What will those prayers consist of? What is a Christian response? Shortly before the second gulf war began, I wrote an essay simply titled Revenge! I want to quote…
Lord Save Us From Your Followers – The Movie
I think there are two major errors we can make as Christians: We can fail to have a message, and we can fail to be the message. If I follow the stereotypes I would say that liberals tend to fail in the first, and conservatives in the second. But I’m afraid we all tend to…
Preaching until you Mean It
Shane Raynor is again stirring things up with a post on a Toolkit for Radical Methodists. He has proposed the idea of preaching faith until you have it, rather than waiting for faith. Since I recently posted some about doubt, I was interested in his phrase “wearing [your] doubt as a straitjacket.” I wonder if…
Living Romans 12
Alan Knox has reposted a series on how the church can live Romans 12:9-21 along with some current thoughts. He points out that Romans 1-11 are theological, but starting with Romans 12, Paul begins to speak about how the church can live out the theology of the first chapters. This all reminded me of one…
Theological German Blog
Dave Black linked to this post today for the Barth quote, but I will be visiting the site frequently, I think. To say that my theological German is rusty is an understatement, but I was surprised by how much I could get first pass. The word lists fill in. This could help scrape off some…
Rick Mansfield on the TNIV and NIV2011
He has some good thoughts here, more on the technical and marketing side.
New Revision of NIV Announced
Everybody is writing about this so I might as well get on the bandwagon. I’ll credit the hat tip to Better Bibles Blog. I’m pretty sure that’s where I read about it first. I’ll let you go there for the details. To be honest, though I’m obviously pretty intensively interested in Bible translation, having written…
Identifying Divine Revelation
Alan Lenzi writes a post in response to John Hobbins in which he seems to find it surprising that more Biblical scholars don’t abandon faith, and that their failure to do so says something about their “unwillingness to think historically without being hamstrung to the implications of their work by the fear of divine judgment…
Biblical Studies Carnival #45 Posted
… at The Golden Rule, Bible Theme Park edition. Lots of good stuff here, and despite my usual delinquency in submitting anything, I got a link in there.
Seventh-day Adventist Education and Evolution
I recently wrote with appreciation about my Seventh-day Adventist education in Biblical studies over on my Participatory Bible Study blog. Today a friend sent me an e-mail directing me to a post on Inside Higher Ed, discussing a problem with the teaching of evolution at La Sierra University, a Seventh-day Adventist school. I didn’t attend…
Garage Sale? Watch out for the Feds!
They’re looking for people who resell recalled items. To be fair, I must note that they’re paying the most attention to the big boys, like Goodwill. (HT: The Agitator)
Am I a Doubter?
Bruce Alderman has written a post that is making me think. That’s a good thing! He thinks that we are misusing the word “doubts” when we suggest that believers may have doubts. To quote: Questions can and do lead to a more mature faith. Genuine doubts do not. Hmm! I must say that I have…
Is Seminary Necessary?
Sky McCracken thinks we may not, and has some good thoughts on the matter.
MyBibleVersion.com Update
It has been some time since I discussed the MyBibleVersion.com site, and indeed it has been some time since I updated it. Today I added Google FriendConnect and the ability to comment. Comments are active on the index page and on each of the Bible version detail pages. I believe this will give me the…
Beware Friends Bearing Manuscripts
That’s something every editor should have laminated and stuck on the wall. There is nothing to make me cringe like a friend or relative telling me that they have a manuscript they’ve been working on for a long time. Inevitably this leads to the question, “Would you be interested in looking at it?” Depending on…
The Bad Name of Evangelism
Via Shane Raynor on Twitter and the Wesley Report, I found this article on UMPortal about early Methodist evangelism. What struck me, was how many of the ideas there could be found in Acts. Here’s a key quote: She [Rev. Laceye Warner of Duke] defined evangelism as preaching the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ…
Bibles with a Viewpoint – The Green Bible
Those who read this blog regularly are probably already aware that I have mixed emotions about study Bibles. I would say “love-hate relationship” but none of my feelings about study Bibles attains the level of “love.” Via Sun and Shield I found a review on First Things of The Green Bible. I recommend reading the…
Lazy
… Bible study that is. Food for thought from for the Sake of Truth.
Sexual Attraction and Divinity
Two of the lectionary passages today, at least if you go with the United Methodist selections, involve romance and sexual attraction. One, of course, is Song of Songs 2:8-13 and the other is Psalm 45, which has a foreign princess marrying the king of Israel. The second involves romance at least as far as an…