Our church’s summer sermon series was on the first eight chapters of Acts, so I thought I’d share a few notes on it. Of course we know that, in Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira became famous — or, rather, infamous — for their dishonesty in contributing the proceeds from a land sale to the early … [Read more…]
The last letter that the apostle Paul wrote was likely Second Timothy, and on the last page of the current issue of Touchstone magazine there is a thoughtful column about it (Patrick Henry Reardon, “As It Is Written …: The Library Left Behind,” Touchstone, July/August 2024, at 56; here’s the link). The column focuses, in … [Read more…]
There are a variety of plans for reading the Bible in a year but — call me a cynic — I bet it has happened more than once that a person embarking on one or the other fails to finish the Bible by December 31. Let’s face it: The Bible is a pretty long book, … [Read more…]
My wife and I recently went to see a new performance — revival, if that’s the right use of the term — of the 1971 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. This was part of the show’s tour, so we were just lucky to see it so close to Resurrection Sunday, and it gives me the … [Read more…]
Our church recently concluded its sermon series (also noted here on this blogsite) on the book of Exodus, so herewith are some thoughts. First, when you think about it, while of course Genesis discusses the origins of Judaism with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Exodus is the first book about the Jews as a … [Read more…]
It cannot be an accident that the Gospel of John starts with the phrase “In the beginning” — just as Genesis does. The first two words (in koine Greek) of both John and the Septuagint are, En arche. This invites a comparison. One could analyze the entire first chapters of the two books, but I’ll … [Read more…]
In reading the first half of John 19 the other day, I was struck with how real, how straightforward the narration is. It does not read like a made-up mythopoetic fantasy, but instead like reportage (I’m paraphrasing C.S. Lewis). But see what you think: Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together … [Read more…]
Any time we question God, it’s cheeky at best and can be dangerously disrespectful, so let me begin this blogpost by reassuring the reader that it will conclude with, well, whaddya know, He was right again. *** So I was thinking about the part of Genesis where God tells Abraham that He is going to … [Read more…]
1. I can think of three arguments for recognizing that such a thing as Scripture exists (and, without going into a lot of detail here, by Scripture I mean a text that is not only true but has a special kind of inspired truth). First and foremost, Jesus recognized it. Second, we need Scripture as … [Read more…]
I (and others) frequently note that one argument supporting the veracity of the Bible is that it contains much that is unflattering to the people who supposedly made it up. The Jews in the Old Testament are complaining and ungrateful backsliders, the apostles in the New Testament are uncomprehending and cowardly, to give just two … [Read more…]