Category: Uncategorized
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“All Scripture is God-Breathed”
Every scripture [is] God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for improvement, for instruction in justice, in order that the person of God be capable, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17) This is one of the primary verses supporting the unique status of the Christian Bible. There is an aspect to this verse,…
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Imagining The Eternal Risen Christ
In my reading travels I’ve come across two quotes which articulate an extraordinarily expansive imagining of The Eternal Risen Christ. (They’re not quick reads! I found them worth several careful readings.) + + + “[F]or the Gospel is not merely the narration of what has been; it is the sublime narration of what is and…
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“Our Daily Bread”
Translations of Scripture are marvels of scholarship, and the standard translations are as accurate as translations can be. But of course, much is still ‘lost in the translation’. All translations of anything have this problem. To me a translation is like a black and white photo and the original is ‘living color’ — the black…
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Welcoming the Stranger
Two particularly prominent issues today are racism and genderism. And they vitally need to be addressed. As I consider these issues, it seems to me these are part of a larger Problem. Namely — rejection and oppression of those who are different from us — whether that be skin color, gender attitudes, religion, political views,…
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“God Thus Loved the World…”
This week I thought we might consider one of the more famous verses in the Bible, namely John 3:16: “For God thus AGAPĒ-loved the KOSMOS, that He gave his only-begotten son…” AGAPĒ is probably the most famous Greek word in the New Testament, and rightly so. Now, Greek lexicons (dictionaries of dead languages) are great,…
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“One Doesn’t Live by Bread Alone”
I‘ve been working with the Greek New Testament for decades — 2.5 years of college Biblical Greek, ongoing personal study since then including working through every verse in the Greek New Testament at least once, as well as working with other Greek literature from the era including the Septuagint (a translation of the Hebrew Bible…
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Psalm 26
[Given] to Dauid. Vindicate me, O Lord, because I walked in my guilelessness, and since I am hoping in the Lord, I will NOT grow weak. Prove me, O Lord, and try me; burn [with fire] my kidneys and my heart. Because your mercy is before my eyes, and I was pleased in your truth.…
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Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
This week’s theme is about Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” in his 9th symphony, and how it has come to be an anthem of overcoming adversity. There’s a film treatment of the “Ode to Joy” which I think is stupendous, and I’ve included a link to the clip below. (The movie is called “Immortal Beloved” —…
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So Great a Cloud of Copyists
One of the cornerstones of the Reformation is the phrase “Sola Scriptura” — Latin for “Only Scripture.” The idea was that instead of relying on the authority of the [Catholic] Church for matters of faith and doctrine, we should rely on Scripture alone. So let’s pause a moment and consider what has made the availability…
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Reading through the Psalms
Altogether it takes about 4.5 hours to read the entire Book of Psalms out loud. (You can verify this on YouTube: there are multiple versions of folks reading the entire Book of Psalms, all of which are 4.5 hours long more or less. Your mileage may vary, of course.) That works out to about 270…