The most recent version of this post is available here.
“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, July 07, 2014
Sunday, July 06, 2014
Does Baptism Save?
Along with many others, Dwight Longenecker, the ex-evangelical Catholic priest referenced in
a previous post, teaches that it is
a critical component of salvation:
“In addition to believing and confessing with our lips, we
need to be baptized. At the beginning of Romans 6, St. Paul actually explains
how we share in the death and new life of Christ: It is through baptism.
The beginning of Romans 6 he says, ‘Don’t you know that all
of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were
therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as
Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may
live a new life.’ ”
On this basis, Catholics teach that faith is
not enough for salvation; the ritual of water baptism is a must.
But are they right?
Labels:
Baptism
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Catholicism
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Dwight Longenecker
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Ritual
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Symbolism
Saturday, July 05, 2014
Friday, July 04, 2014
The Symbol Is Not the Point
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Labels:
Catholicism
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Dwight Longenecker
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Ritual
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Symbolism
Thursday, July 03, 2014
How Much Does It Have To Hurt?
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Labels:
Apostle Paul
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Corinthians
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Forgiveness
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Luke
Wednesday, July 02, 2014
Wikipedia vs. Baptism
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Labels:
Baptism
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Colossians
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Galatians
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Romans
Tuesday, July 01, 2014
An Islamic Court Finally Gets Something Right
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Monday, June 30, 2014
The Missing Ingredient
What is understanding? Here’s what they think at Harvard:
“In a phrase, understanding is the ability to think and act flexibly with what one knows.”
In other words, understanding is putting information into
action, applying what we have learned in a practical way to our lives.
So did something go wrong with the 2008 presidential
election? Because everybody agrees President Obama is a pretty smart guy. Surely he had lots of “information” to put into action.
Labels:
Intelligence
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John the Apostle
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Obedience
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Psalms
Sunday, June 29, 2014
‘Leftist Utopia’ and the End
In a blog post aptly entitled “I’m Sorry, But Your Utopia is
Just a Little Creepy”, David Thompson assembles a series of rather ominous
quotes and links on the modern family.
First, from Anthony Daniels (or ‘Theodore Dalrymple’ if you
prefer), doctor and psychiatrist, on observations arising out of his practice
in England:
“In the course of my duties, I would often go to patients’ homes. Everyone lived in households with a shifting cast of members, rather than in families. If there was an adult male resident, he was generally a bird of passage with a residence of his own somewhere else. He came and went as his fancy took him. To ask a child who his father was had become an almost indelicate question. Sometimes the child would reply, “Do you mean my father at the moment?” Others would simply shake their heads, being unwilling to talk about the monster who had begot them and whom they wished at all costs to forget.”
Labels:
David Thompson
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Malachi
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Parenting
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Rich Lowry
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Theodore Dalrymple
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Political Correctness, the Slave Metaphor and New Testament Truth
Mary C. Curtis at the Washington
Post is not a fan of politicians invoking the “slave” metaphor to get
attention:
“There are many ways to make a coherent, urgent political point without recalling the rope and the whip, the rapes and murders. Slavery, part of our shared American history, is not just a word … To use past anguish as present-day metaphor trivializes evil and shows disrespect to those who endured.”
But, to be fair, hyperbole is a pretty common device.
Labels:
Apostle Paul
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Christ
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John the Apostle
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Romans
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Slavery
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
The Greatest Love of All
Pride is a terrible thing.
I give full credit to translators of the Bible and don’t assume for a second that I know better than the least of them. But I have noticed that if translators come to their job with a predisposition to see a particular thing in a passage, as in every area of life, that’s what is seen.
Labels:
Apostle Paul
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Pride
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Romans
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Self-Image
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Vanity
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Slavery in the Old Testament [Part 2]
Since the accusation has been made that God endorses slavery, I began in yesterday’s post to examine the subject of slavery in Israel to ask whether God, in fact,
endorsed it at all. Let’s continue with a second relevant principle to bear in mind.
Two Principles Worth
Considering (continued)
As established yesterday, the fact that God tells his
people to obey laws in general does not mean they are good laws or that he approves of them.
But this case is different. The objection may well be raised that the Mosaic Law is not like ‘laws in general’ in that it came directly from God, and said exactly what he wanted it to say.
However, even the Law of Moses did not perfectly represent God’s will, preference or desire for his people. This may initially sound a bit heretical, but God was not ‘ok’ with some parts of Israel’s Law, especially when they were slavishly and literally followed rather than used as a guideline to discern a higher, more loving intent. Those who merely followed the letter of the Law doing the minimum possible would inevitably fall short of God’s real purpose.
But this case is different. The objection may well be raised that the Mosaic Law is not like ‘laws in general’ in that it came directly from God, and said exactly what he wanted it to say.
However, even the Law of Moses did not perfectly represent God’s will, preference or desire for his people. This may initially sound a bit heretical, but God was not ‘ok’ with some parts of Israel’s Law, especially when they were slavishly and literally followed rather than used as a guideline to discern a higher, more loving intent. Those who merely followed the letter of the Law doing the minimum possible would inevitably fall short of God’s real purpose.
Principle #2: The Law
did not represent God’s perfect will.
The Law in its written form (the ‘letter’) represented whatever diluted version of God’s will
that his people might reasonably and generously be expected to follow, given
that they were a mixture of believers and unbelievers characterized by stubbornness, selfishness and rebellion from
Day 1. And even so, Joshua told the Israelites who promised to obey the law
that they wouldn’t be able to keep it.
Monday, June 23, 2014
Slavery in the Old Testament [Part 1]
The following quotes are lifted from another blog
commentary. Like many comments that appear after blog posts with a sizable
audience, they are completely unrelated to the actual topic under discussion.
Possibly to their credit, neither the moderator nor any other commenter took
the bait these two were dangling.
I, on the other hand, have great difficulty resisting a baited
hook, so here goes:
“I have always wanted a slave and from what I can read in MY bible that is totally ok with God right?”
— Emily
“Hi Emily, You see God only let them keep slaves then, because at the time that was how economies worked. There was simply no other way for God to help Israel prosper, they needed to be just the same as the surrounding nations.”
— Minion68
(It ought to be mentioned, in case it is not evident, that
the second comment is pure sarcasm, as Minion’s other comments relating to the
same post make exceedingly clear.)
From their tone, I get the feeling that both commenters have
already made up their minds.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Living Large
The most current version of this post is available here.
Labels:
Christian Testimony
/
Corinthians
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Missing Links
The other day in a piece entitled “Top 10 Ways To
Argue Like A Christian”, I mentioned that my ten choices were far from
exhaustive. So far from exhaustive that I thought of another one almost immediately but, you know, ten is such a nice round number.
But another important facet of presenting an argument, while not
specifically Christian, is just all-around good form and decent, respectful behavior.
It relates particularly to internet discussions and arguments, but has application
any time we take on a published assertion of fact or point of view.
So, mind if I add an eleventh?
Labels:
Apologetics
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Isaiah
Friday, June 20, 2014
Everything Louder Than Everything Else
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Labels:
Money
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Poverty
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Priorities
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Top 10 Ways To Argue Like A Christian
The internet is full of people arguing.
Yes, I know, the sun also rises in the east. Humans breathe
air. Tell me something slightly less obvious.
Okay. The internet is full of Christians arguing. Some of us
do it well. Some do it really, really badly. And the thing is, Christians
shouldn’t argue like unbelievers. When you know the Lord Jesus, you have access
to a weapon nobody but a believer can wield: the word of God, which is:
“… living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
There isn’t a more effective weapon forged, assembled or
built in a lab in the history of the human race.
Labels:
Debate
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Holy Spirit
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Scripture
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Word of God
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
When God Says No
As a parent, I try to be fair and generous with my children,
but just the same, there are times when I say no to their requests. And not
just the kind of requests that are foolish, extravagant, or ultimately harmful
— sometimes I find myself saying no even when what they’re asking of me is
harmless or even potentially beneficial to them, just because I’m too tired or
don’t have the money or simply don't feel like it.
But God is not like that.
Labels:
Disappointment
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Parenting
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Prayer
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Monday, June 16, 2014
How to Fight a Smear Campaign
In social circles we call it gossip. In the courts it’s slander
or libel, depending on the media used. In political circles it’s referred to as
mudslinging or swift-boating. On the web it often manifests as cyber-bullying.
Whatever; it’s a good old-fashioned smear campaign.
Use of the technique can be traced back several millennia at
least, and may be as old as mankind. The motivations behind smear campaigns differ
but you can bet that, more often than not, there’s more than just mean spirits
or the sheer fun of maligning someone in play.
Most of the time, somebody wants something. The smear
campaign is a means to an end.
So how do you fight one? Good question.
Labels:
Apostle Paul
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Peter
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Psalms
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Revenge
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