Our church just finished a sermon series on Leviticus, and in that regard I wanted to share a thought. In the text there are repeated reminders along the lines of “I am the Lord” or “I am the Lord your God” (for example, fifteen times just in chapter 19, according to a study guide). So … [Read more…]
I’ve noted before that a prayer of confession is part of my daily routine, and I’ll take this opportunity to elaborate on it a bit. We’re coming up on Lent next week, a serious time, and a brief daily prayer of confession fits in with that. Now, needless to say, your sins are not my … [Read more…]
Practicing what I preach, I read Mark daily in January, and on the last day ran across two Greek-English oddities in Mark 16. First, Mark 16:2 begins, “Very early on the first day of the week, [the women] came to the tomb, the sun having risen.” Of course, the “Son” as well as the “sun” … [Read more…]
That’s the title of this short piece I posted the last Sunday of January on National Review Online. I’ll note that the post has attracted 168 comments so far, but I have no idea whether that is a high or low number for this venue. Anyway, here’s the post (and I hope all my fellow … [Read more…]
Just FYI and FWIW: I typed in “fine-tuning god arguments summary” into my Chrome search engine, and here’s what its AI says: AI Overview The “fine-tuning argument” for the existence of God claims that the universe’s physical constants and initial conditions are so precisely balanced to allow for life that it indicates a deliberate design, implying … [Read more…]
My sense is that some people like to think that, if they can convince themselves of one inconsistency or inaccuracy in the Bible, then they can reject the Bible (and Christianity) in toto. Maybe this tendency is encouraged by the belief of many Christians in Biblical inerrancy; I don’t know. But the point is this: … [Read more…]
A book review on the last day of 2024 in the Wall Street Journal has a wonderful and surprising final paragraph. The reviewer is Maxwell Carter, who is vice chairman of 20th- and 21st-century art at Christie’s in New York, and the book is The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: An Extraordinary New Journey … [Read more…]
In the last sermon of 2024 at our church, the pastor made what I thought was a good point about the Great Commission, Matthew 28:18-20: 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them … [Read more…]
What better topic than sin as you draw up your New Year’s resolutions? When trying to avoid sin, it seems to me that two problems commonly arise that are not quite the same thing: They are close but distinct. First, we might wonder whether the Bible labels an action sinful at all. Second, we might … [Read more…]
Of course he was, but you wouldn’t know from the NBC national news tonight. That program closed with a segment that the show promised would describe the important life role played by the late president’s deep personal “faith.” And, to be sure, it did mention”Sunday school” and “God” and even showed briefly a shot of … [Read more…]