A Real-World Bible
Epimenides and Menander. 1 Enoch and 2 Esdras, and the Assumption of Moses. What do each of these authors and books have in common?Their commonality is that they are all quoted in the New Testament.The Bible is a real-world Bible.
Biblical Theology
Christian Disciples
It is important to pause and observe that nowhere in the New Testament are Christians ever described as disciples of a fellow believer. Throughout the Gospels and Acts, ‘disciple’ is used as a term for believers exclusively with relation to Jesus.
Biblical Theology
Devoted to The Public Reading of Scripture
Reformed evangelicals are known as being devoted to Scripture: teaching it, preaching it ... but what about the public reading of it?
Biblical Theology
Is The Church Still Serious About Heaven?
What is heaven? Or should we also ask: Where is heaven?; When is heaven?; and - better - Who is heaven?
Reading or Speaking The Bible?
Writing is an act of speech; reading is an act of listening. This is helpful to remember, since, particularly in memory cultures, the written word often functioned as the preservation of or aid to recall the spoken; texts were read out loud.
God's Hard Words Are Still Good Words
As Ezekiel experienced his vision, the word of judgement ‘tasted as sweet as honey’ in his mouth. The things he would experience in his ministry were terrifying: he’d lose his speech, lose his freedom, lose his wife. Yet he is taught that even God’s hard words are good.
Words to Build Up; Words to Tear Down
I was recently reminded of one of the displays of the Parker Library. One of the cabinets has an original of the Articles of Religion written by Thomas Cranmer. In the same cabinet, however, is the bill for the wood purchased for Cranmer’s burning as an heretic.
What Kind of Evidence?
The Bible is not afraid to give evidence. Faith is not an irrational religious experience in spite of evidence; rather, faith is the common human activity of trusting what we are persuaded is true. And, whether we require little or lots, this usually involves proof.
Faith & Doubt
God’s grace to us is not dependent on how much we trust him but whether we trust him. Perfect or imperfect, the quality of our trust/faith is unimportant, so long as we do trust/believe him. The only alternative is to reject him, after all.
What Is 'Church'?
It is not unusual for the modern use of a word to be quite removed from the meaning of that word in its biblical context(s). ‘Kingdom’, for instance, in modern use has an emphasis on ‘realm’ while in Scripture the word refers to the ‘reign’ or ‘rule’ of a king.
Faith & Evidence
The Christian faith is not irrational. Despite what atheists like Richard Dawkins would have us believe about our own faith, Christianity is decidedly not belief due to a lack of – or worse, in spite of – the evidence. It's not a leap in the dark.
The Object of Faith Is Key
'That we have ‘faith’ is irrelevant; what we have faith in is everything.' Faith means ‘trust’. If this is the case, then the words ‘faith / belief’ cover far more than ‘religious actions’, as we’ve touched on. And, as an action, it is useless if misplaced.
What Is Faith?
The words ‘faith’ and ‘belief’ that we encounter so often on the pages of Scripture simply mean ‘trust.’ Although they are two distinct words in English, they are both translating a single Greek word, Greek being the original New Testament language.
What Is Christian Maturity?
The concept of maturity is related to the ideas of perfection, completion, and wholeness. Just as we may speak of mature fruit, so too might we speak of the mature Christian: grown, fully rounded, complete, and whole. Christian maturity is about fruition.
God Has a Name, and He's Given It to Jesus
I recently saw a table of religions that listed the name of “the divine” in each religion. I was heartened to see it listed God’s name in Judaism as ‘Yahweh’, but I was disappointed (but unsurprised) that Christianity’s name for God was simply listed as ‘God’.