Note: This is a second excursus in my series on Biblical criticism. When I begin my next entry, dealing with the parable of the sower, I will begin by discussing textual issues and applying these principles. I was encouraged to make a few notes on textual criticism after I read the collection of essays The…
Note: This is a small excursus in my series giving an overview of Biblical criticism. In this entry I want to apply some of the material I discussed about authorship and dating to the book of Daniel. Next, I will write an additional entry on methods of textual criticism in general, and then I will…
Newsweek has an excellent interview with Billy Graham in their online edition. I think his response to the issue of the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina was excellent. Very often we can only answer “I don’t know” to the “why” questions that people have in times of trouble. Graham provides an example and encouragement as…
Christianity Today reports in an article titled Too Inclusive that Pastor Carlton Pearson’s Higher Dimensions Worship Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma has now begun meeting in a neighboring Episcopal church, since membership has dropped by 90% from an initial 5,000. I discovered this story by reading the Wesley Daily blog, which titled the story Pastor Says…
“Grace gives us choices,” says Pastor Tom Sims in a blog entry entitled Paradoxical People. Good point. Tom is talking particularly about our ability to be ourselves. I like to call the alternative “putting on your faith face.” I see it primarily in churches. You can’t possibly go to church, after all, without making sure…
Brian McLaren, author of The Secret Message of Jesus and co-author of Adventures in Missing the Point with Tony Campolo, among many other books, has an article currently on the Sojourner web site entitled Found in Translation. I want to thank Shane Raynor of Wesley Blog for calling my attention to this article with his…
43Now awe came upon every person, because many miracles and signs were accomplished through the ministry of the apostles. 44All the believers were in unity and had there possessions in common. 45They sold their possessions and assets and divided among all those who needed them. 46Every day they went faithfully to the temple, they broke…
As many of you know, besides my work in writing and publishing, I’m president of Pacesetters Bible School, Inc., an organization dedicated to religious education, and particularly in bringing sound Biblical scholarship to local churches. Pacesetters is a totally volunteer organization (I’m not compensated as president), and is a non-profit. I’ve been pretty lax about…
On February 21 I was priveleged to attend the Spirit of Women awards sponsored by the Sacred Heart Health System. My wife, Jody Neufeld, was one of the nominees, 113 women who were nominated for their service to the community. Only three of those could be recognized with awards, but I was impressed that the…
Wayne Leman, on the Better Bibles blog, has posted a note about Ben Witherington’s apology for his remarks about the ESV (Ben Witherington apologizes for ESV comments). I’ve been pretty busy the latter half of this week, so I missed part of the action and had to review it through several blogs. I admire someone…