“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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Sunday, April 04, 2021
Be Careful What You Wish For
Saturday, April 03, 2021
Mining the Minors: Amos (9)
Actions have consequences. Some things follow inevitably from others. In his third chapter, Amos takes a series of illustrations from the natural world and uses them to demonstrate that when presented with the evidence of one’s eyes and ears, certain conclusions ought to be drawn. He does this by asking seven questions to which every answer is an obvious “No” or “Of course not.”
It may be that the content of the questions is less important than the rhetorical flourish they achieve cumulatively; that each statement is intended to build upon the previous one and together reinforce the certainty of the prophet’s concluding statement. However, when we look at the content of each line more closely in the light of other Old Testament scriptures, it does not seem unreasonable to view them as different ways of illustrating the inevitability of Israel’s coming judgment.
Friday, April 02, 2021
Too Hot to Handle: Let’s Get Together
Thursday, April 01, 2021
The Era of the Gentle and Reverent Lie
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
When Analogies Fail
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
A Mistress Forever
Monday, March 29, 2021
Anonymous Asks (138)
Sunday, March 28, 2021
The Rest is Detail
Saturday, March 27, 2021
Mining the Minors: Amos (8)
Friday, March 26, 2021
Too Hot to Handle: The ‘Construct’ Argument
Thursday, March 25, 2021
The Foulness is Downstream
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
The Time of Their Visitation
Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Colorblindness, Privilege and Inspiration
Monday, March 22, 2021
Anonymous Asks (137)
Sunday, March 21, 2021
When the Holy Spirit is Silent
Saturday, March 20, 2021
Mining the Minors: Amos (7)
Friday, March 19, 2021
Too Hot to Handle: Virginity as Social Construct
Thursday, March 18, 2021
If There Were No Christians
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Indirect Evidence for Inspiration
In an era when not just politicians, lawyers and Muslims but average men and women increasingly play fast and loose with truth, one may forgive a little scepticism when someone makes a claim.
“All scripture is breathed out by God”, Paul once wrote to Timothy.
That is a pretty significant assertion, and it is not one that can be substantiated by direct evidence. Christians cannot produce Polaroids of Paul or David in the process of writing the words of God surrounded by a nimbus or with an angel handing them a scroll. Nor can eyewitnesses confirm the presence of any Spirit Being overshadowing, indwelling, controlling or directing the authors of scripture. They are all long gone, if such witnesses ever existed.