“Love often manifests itself in giving people what they can’t appreciate and don’t want, and
in demanding from them precisely what they most want to retain for themselves.” — Tom
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Monday, February 24, 2014
10 down, 603 to go ...
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Inbox: Demon Possession and the Church Age
Saturday, February 22, 2014
The Boy in Black Leather
Those of you who are a few years younger than I am, and most, if not all, of the men, can probably relate to that one. I don’t mean that you necessarily know the song, but you’ve almost certainly had the experience.“I was crazy for JackieI was almost ready to saywhen a boy in black leathercame and took Jackie away”— The Waterboys
I had it as a teenager, and oddly enough the girl’s name actually was Jackie, though I can’t remember if the boy who took her away wore black leather or not. Those were the punk rock years, so it’s not improbable.
And, if I am completely truthful, there was more than one “Jackie” over the years, and more than one “boy in black leather”.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Who’s Afraid of Science?
“Science (from Latin scientia, meaning “knowledge”) is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.”
Boiled down to its essence, it is a propaganda hammer used to bludgeon the most malleable minds into what are — today, at least — the most politically acceptable shapes.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Will There Really Be A Millennial Temple? [Part 2]
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
Bible Study 09 — Context [Part 3]
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
An Apple for Mr Dalrymple
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Friday, February 14, 2014
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Will There Really Be A Millennial Temple? [Part 1]
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Romantic Love is NOT an Inalienable Right
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
In Need of Analysis: Why Christian Music Needs a Dose of Worldliness
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Bible Study 08 — Context [Part 2]
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Sunday, February 09, 2014
Saturday, February 08, 2014
Leave Scripture Out of It
Friday, February 07, 2014
Insufficient Authority
Thursday, February 06, 2014
In Need of Analysis: Doctrine vs. Practice
Wednesday, February 05, 2014
What’s in a name?
So we’ve enabled anonymous commenting for the time being to make life easier for folks who don’t like leaving their personal info all over the internet.
In Need of Analysis: Wake Up and Smell the Potpourri
Tuesday, February 04, 2014
Safely and Painfully Dead
Monday, February 03, 2014
Inbox: What’s this ‘Fellowship’ Thing?
“Not surprisingly, Tom, in light of what you have said so far, I started thinking whether or not there is a word in the Scriptures that describes this special kind of communication that Christians may have with each other. I believe there is. Doesn’t “fellowship” wrap it up neatly? That is, as long as we do not allow its Biblical strength to be diluted by the limited way unbelievers must understand the term, for Christian fellowship has to be experienced before it can be defined. In fact, I confess I find it difficult to define now though I think I can say I have “experiences” of it. But maybe I am looking at it too subjectively — what joy I get out of it. But isn’t that what happened on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:32)? I’m scrambling and hoping you or others will help me to unscramble my thoughts.”
Sunday, February 02, 2014
Bible Study 07 — Context [Part 1]
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Saturday, February 01, 2014
Christians That Need to be Saved
Friday, January 31, 2014
Thursday, January 30, 2014
The Antidote
“And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”The words “hold together” here are most frequently translated “commend”, or literally “stand with”, and are used of a confirming testimony; that which supports or substantiates something that might otherwise be less solid or demonstrable. The KJV says, “in him all things consist”, which is fine, as long as we don’t conjure the image of the Lord Jesus as some vast being with everything else inside him, because that is not what the apostle is emphasizing here. Rather, he affirms here what is said in Hebrews about the Son; that he “upholds all things by the word of his power”.
(Colossians 1:17)
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
This Explains Why the People I Work With Are Frequently Nicer Than I Am …
“… to suggest that there is no trace of anything good left in man at all is to contradict the Bible. The Bible teaches that we were created in the image of God (Gen 1:26-27). That isn’t a reference to our physical appearance, but to a variety of spiritual, moral, emotional, and intellectual attributes. Whatever else it means, it means that we can think, reason, create, love, etc. If “total depravity” means that man is as depraved as possible in every way, then it would mean that the image of God has been utterly obliterated and that an unsaved man retains none of it. This is patently untrue. Unsaved men can think, reason, and create. Unsaved men can even love. Although diminished and corrupted, vestiges of the image of God remain. It is for this reason that the Holy Spirit can say through Peter that Christ “called us by His own glory and excellence” (2 Pet 1:3).
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Command Performance
Monday, January 27, 2014
Bible Study 06 — Comparison [Part 6]
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Can We Stop Using This Straw Man Now? Please?
Saturday, January 25, 2014
The Faithful Have Vanished
Friday, January 24, 2014
God’s Eyelids
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Inbox: Marital Breakdown
I’m with Ted’s explanation; at the least there seems to be nothing in the immediate context to forbid it. Secondly, 1 Cor. 14:34-37 reinforce it, as does 1 Tim. 2:12. Thirdly, having spent some 50 or more years marriage counselling I have observed that much marital breakdown occurs when either a man fails to fulfil his role as a protector and provider or a woman competes with his leadership. She may do this by asserting her ‘rights’ or manipulating her husband into doing what she wants.
The Opiate
It is true that some of the world’s religions and religious leaders have done this very thing — some even claiming to be Christians. While they urged their followers to work harder and make greater sacrifices, they themselves accumulated wealth to excess. This bad testimony alone has caused many people to agree with Karl Marx and to dismiss Christianity altogether.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
He Who Requires Blood
“Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!
Tell among the peoples his deeds!
For he who requires blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.” (Psalm 9:11,12)
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Love Is Not Enough
“I’ve looked high and low, I’ve been from shore to shore to shore.
If there’s a shortcut, I’d have found it. But there’s no easy way around it:
Light of the world, shine on me, love is the answer.”
Monday, January 20, 2014
Looking Forward or Looking Back?
By any other name, would it smell as sweet? |
But very often in the Bible however, there is additional depth to a name. Matthew 16 is a common enough example that has drawn the interest of theologians for generations; what did Peter’s naming really signify? But there are many other famous examples that are less controversial; Saul became Paul, Abram became Abraham and so on. In each case there was a reason that someone’s name was changed and that reason is worth exploring.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Bible Study 05 — Comparison [Part 5]
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
On the Unfair Maligning of Atheists
“What sort of miserable, twisted personality seeks to rob another human being of all the emotional and lifestyle benefits that come with the Christian life for … for what? So the successful converts to atheism can hit the bars, brothels and the casinos and ‘eat and drink, for tomorrow we die’? So they can swell the ranks of the overweight, the suicidal and the terminally miserable? So they can help bankrupt the health care system? So they can cheat their employers, slack off and go on welfare because, hey, why not? So they can scream and wail and fall on coffins at the weddings of loved ones because that’s all, folks? So they can camp out in the cold with the Occupy gang and resent the rich and powerful because their only hope is in this life?”
Friday, January 17, 2014
The Ninth Circle
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Without Ceasing
“The Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
The Lord has heard my plea;
The Lord accepts my prayer.” (Psalm 6:8-9)
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Sceptics, Seekers and Opponents
“Scepticism does not mean ‘I am dubious about X.’ It does not mean ‘I am going to convince you that X is better than Y’. It does not mean ‘I will only believe X if there is sufficient evidence to justify it’. It means: ‘I have no opinion about either X or Y, and if you assert that X is better, I will argue that Y is better in order to produce a contradiction of equal weight and thereby allow me to suspend my judgment.’ What virtually no one who talks about scepticism seems to understand is that for the sceptic, suspension of judgment is not the method or the initial approach, it is the objective.”I had not thought of this before, but it provides a good jumping-off point for looking at the issue of how people respond to the preaching of the gospel.
— Vox Day
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
I Know
“… the defining feature of Theism is the Theist’s experience of an infinite but intimate God; and this sets the Theist so far from abstract epistemic neutrality that she too has every justification for weighting most of the standard budget of problems for Theism found in typical philosophy of religion basically as interesting puzzles. The epistemic reasoner is certain that the world is real, on the basis of her experience; so her question about the sceptical argument is not “I wonder whether it is sound?” but “I wonder where exactly it goes wrong?”. The Theist is certain that God is real, on the basis of her experience; so her question about anti-Theistic arguments is not whether they prove that there is no God, but how exactly they fail to prove that.”
— Timothy Chappell, Theism in historical perspective
Monday, January 13, 2014
“A Matter of Interpretation”
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Bible Study 04 — Comparison [Part 4]
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Friday, January 10, 2014
For All People
Thursday, January 09, 2014
It Ain’t Over ’til it’s Over
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Wednesday, January 08, 2014
Your Father Who Is In Secret
They don’t require faith
Tuesday, January 07, 2014
In Need of Analysis: Public Prayer
Monday, January 06, 2014
Impossible to Renew [Part 2]
“For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.” (Hebrews 6:4-8)This Passage does NOT Refer to Christians
Sunday, January 05, 2014
Impossible to Renew [Part 1]
“For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.” (Hebrews 6:4-8)Eternal Insecurity
Read superficially, it strikes fear into the heart, for it seems at first to imply that those who have put their faith in Christ for salvation can lose that salvation.
Saturday, January 04, 2014
Unintended Consequences
Friday, January 03, 2014
Get with the Program(ming)
From now on, at least in everything I post, they'll look a bit more like this. Unless of course the significance of the quote warrants that it be handled:
"Like this, and this, and this."in which case it will be quoted in full. Usually when I post, from the English Standard Version.
Online resources have made it redundant to insert inline references. Ordinarily I'd say let's put them there anyway "just in case". But I've always found they take me out of the writer's train of thought. And when anything is a hurdle to comprehension, we welcome its banishment.
So if you want to see a proof text from now on, click away.
In Need of Analysis: What Makes a Good Hymn?
Thursday, January 02, 2014
Inbox: How Can God Allow Evil?
“There’s more to be said on this subject: What would a situation look like in which human beings were fallen, but creation itself was not? Or what would a situation look like wherein evil type 1 (human evil) would be present but evil type 2 (i.e. ‘natural’ evils like earthquakes and cancer) were not possible?
Consider this:
A fallen humanity plus a protected creation means that while the knowledge of good and evil exists, only good can be actualized. It means a condition of ability-to-choose exists for humanity, but no ability-to-act-on-choice. Humanity can dream evil, but never put it into action; therefore, no actual freedom or choice is created, but humanity is constituted as inwardly wicked. Furthermore, since there would exist a permanent disconnect between inner nature and external action, it becomes questionable how a) sin could become recognized for what it is, and b) how salvation would be possible, since all we know about it suggests it is constituted by external events actualized within the world itself. Would humanity then be caught in a permanent condition of sin, with no remedy? Perhaps. But what is abundantly clear is that there would be no genuine ‘choice’ between good and evil, between God and sin, since no person could ever act upon such an inward impulse.
If this is right, then a fallen humanity necessitates also a fallen creation — since humanity must have a place in which to actualize its choices and a stage upon which the drama of redemption can be set. And if having sin be recognized as sin, and if having a stage that is flawed in such ways as to allow for that all-important drama to take place entails a few instances of chaotic evil, a few earthquakes or cases of cancer, is that really surprising?”
Bible Study 03 — Comparison [Part 3]
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Wednesday, January 01, 2014
No Passage Back
How Can God Allow Evil?
Where Evil Grows
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Abiding in Christ
Monday, December 30, 2013
So What About Cain’s Wife?
Sunday, December 29, 2013
The Truth Is Out There
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Bible Study 02 — Comparison [Part 2]
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Friday, December 27, 2013
Two Genealogies
Why Does it Matter?
The genealogy of Jesus is important, because anybody who claimed to be the Messiah had to be able to establish that they were a descendant of King David and heir to his throne, as the prophets had foretold (2 Sam. 7:12-13; Is. 9:6, 11:1-5; Jer. 23:5). So any accusation that Jesus’ genealogies are wrong is a serious one. However, both clearly show that Jesus is a descendant of David, so no matter what other conclusions one may reach about the genealogies, they cannot be used to disqualify Jesus as the Messiah.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
In Need of Analysis: Does it Build?
“Brightly beams our Father’s mercy,
From His lighthouse evermore,
But to us He gives the keeping
Of the lights along the shore.
Let the lower lights be burning!
Send a gleam across the wave!
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman
You may rescue, you may save.
Dark the night of sin has settled,
Loud the angry billows roar;
Eager eyes are watching, longing,
For the lights along the shore.
Trim your feeble lamp, my brother;
Some poor sailor, tempest-tossed,
Trying now to make the harbor,
In the darkness may be lost.”
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Does the Virgin Birth Matter?
Does it Really Matter How Christ was Born?
Yes, it certainly does matter. The story of the virgin birth is vital to our understanding of Christ’s divine, sinless nature. It is no coincidence that so many of the theologians who reject the Virgin Birth also reject the deity of Christ. After all, if one part of His life story is just a myth, then many other parts might be mythical as well.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Duck Season
“Thirdly (and finally), I’m concerned for those who want to make grandpa the poster-child for the Christian faith.
I’ve read the transcript of grandpa’s recent interview. (It made me blush.) He attempted to quote Scripture (botched it, but at least he tried). But he had no difficulty or hesitancy engaging in a discourse which was (to put it mildly) downright crude (“lacking tact or taste; blunt or offensive”), crass (“unrefined as to be lacking in discrimination and sensibility”), and vulgar (“deficient in taste, delicacy, or refinement”). Wait, I’m not finished. It was rude, tawdry, and tasteless.”
The Messiah
Messiah is a Hebrew word meaning ‘Anointed One’. ‘Christ’ is the Greek word for the very same thing. In the Old Testament, prophets, priests and kings were anointed to show that they had been chosen by God. However, there were also many prophecies which spoke of a special Anointed One who would be prophet, priest and king all in one. This was the One who was referred to as ‘the Messiah’, and the promise of His coming gave suffering Jews hope for many centuries. Today many Jews have given up on that promise. However, gentile Christians and a small number of believing Jews believe that Jesus is the Messiah who was promised to Israel. He has not yet fulfilled all the prophecies which were given about the Messiah, but He will come back and fulfill the rest of the prophecies soon.
Monday, December 23, 2013
A Chosen Instrument
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day” (Acts 22:3)
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Two Men and You
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Can We Really Know?
The believer in Christ, however, does not say “I think” or “I hope”. He is able to say “I know”. Those who follow other beliefs are often taken aback, and offended, by this confidence. How could anyone be so arrogant as to be sure that they have pleased God? But the Christian is someone who has realized that there is a difference between God’s plan of salvation and the way humanity tries to make for itself.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Bible Study 01 — Comparison [Part 1]
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
But I’m Not Hurting Anybody …
Wiccans and other new age groups often quote the credo “An ye harm none, do what ye will.” As long as what they are doing is not hurting anyone, they believe that they are free to commit whatever acts they desire — including many things scripture calls sin.
The question is, however, whether they can be sure that these ‘harmless’ acts really are harmless.
On Further Reflection
A few days back I linked to a post from a Texas pastor on the subject of God’s attributes that’s still percolating in my cranium this morning (you can find it here). This bit, for example:
“God isn’t merely wise; He’s wisdom. He isn’t merely powerful; He’s power. He isn’t merely good; He’s goodness. He isn’t merely holy; He’s holiness. He isn’t merely just; He’s justice. God’s manifold attributes can no more be separated from Him than He can be separated from Himself. They’re His essence.”
I suspect that’s something any serious Christian can nod in agreement with.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
One
“But he is one, and who can turn him?”
Job said it about God to his companions as he suffered.
God is one. That can be read in many different ways and has a bunch of implications, certainly more than Job had in mind at the time.
1/ One vs. Three
When the Unitarian says, “Good, God is one; that puts paid to this nonsense about a trinity,” he is making a theological point. He’s wrong, of course. Don’t use the word trinity if it bothers you. Don’t refer to the ‘persons of the Godhead’ if you find it a non-scriptural or extra-scriptural turn of phrase. That’s certainly a position one can take. But if you can read your Bible without noticing that God manifests himself in three distinctly different ways, modes — or possibly, um, ‘persons’ — well, you’re just not reading the same thing I’m reading.
But despite all that being very much the case, we read that God is one.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Recommend-a-blog (1)
"God isn’t merely wise; He’s wisdom. He isn’t merely powerful; He’s power. He isn’t merely good; He’s goodness. He isn’t merely holy; He’s holiness. He isn’t merely just; He’s justice. God’s manifold attributes can no more be separated from Him than He can be separated from Himself. They’re His essence. They’re all one in Him – His justice is His mercy and His mercy is His justice, His wisdom is His power and His power is His wisdom, His knowledge is His patience and His patience is His knowledge, His wrath is His goodness and His goodness is His wrath. God’s manifold attributes are distinguished in their objects and effects, but they’re all one in Him."Read the whole thing here and give it some thought. If you don’t get it now, it may hit you later.
Made my day.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Did Christ’s Disciples Concoct the Myth that He is God?
“I think,” someone once told me earnestly, “that Jesus’ teachings were good, but he was just an ordinary man. After he died, his followers invented the story about the resurrection and started talking as if he were God. They meant well, of course — they were only trying to gain more support for their new religion. But if Jesus had known that they’d made a god out of him, he would have been shocked.”
Many people like the idea of acknowledging Jesus as a great moral teacher, but they don’t want to recognize him as God. So they suggest that all his claims to deity in the gospels were added by over-zealous followers after his death. This hypothesis may be convenient to those who wish to pick and choose among Christ’s teachings, but is it true? Is it even logical?
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Bible Study 00 — Introduction
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Aren’t the Gods of Other Religions Really Just Different Views of the Same God?
As human beings, we are subject to changes of mood and personality. A person may behave in a kind and loving way one day, and then be selfish and surly the next.
Some people over the centuries have taken this concept and applied it to God. Certainly, they say, God can be just, and the Old Testament is right to say that God is just. But God can also be selfish and capricious, so the ancient Greeks were right to believe in a Zeus who punished men for trivialities and cheated on his wife. The Jews and the Greeks were both right. They each saw a different aspect to God’s personality, that’s all.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Conspiracy Theory
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Making Straight Paths
We are likely all familiar with the preparations involved for a visiting dignitary: the airport at which he will arrive is closed off to other traffic, the roads his motorcade must travel are cleared, a security perimeter is established and so forth. This has been society’s behavior for time immemorial — when someone important arrives, everything else is managed to ensure that the VIP can keep to their schedule in a way that is most comfortable and safe for them.