This is just a brief post noting a similarity in the basic structure of the Old and New Testaments. In the Bible we Protestants use, both testaments begin with a founding core (the Pentateuch/Torah — Gospels), followed by some subsequent history (Joshua through Esther — Acts), and then a long series of books that are … [Read more…]
Did Jesus implicitly use an argument similar to Pascal’s Wager in his parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl (Matthew 13:44-46)? Here are the parables: 44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he … [Read more…]
This short, 134-page book (and that includes references, index, etc.) is part of an Oxford University Press series of “very short introductions” that aim to provide “a stimulating and accessible way into a new subject.” The author’s impressive credentials are laid out on the book jacket: James Como is Professor Emeritus of Rhetoric and Public … [Read more…]
I had the idea one time for a post on “Most Difficult Bible Passages” or maybe “Most Disturbing Bible Passages.” I might still do that, and in any event my Exhibit A would be the topic of this post, namely when God in Exodus deliberately “hardens the heart” of Pharaoh so he won’t do the … [Read more…]
I had this thought when I was reading William Lane Craig’s The Son Rises: The Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus: As someone who was persecuting the early Christians, Paul would have been very familiar with the arguments used by the Jewish establishment in this persecution — in particular, for example, that Jesus was … [Read more…]
William Lane Craig is an impressive man, a philosopher and theologian, and a professor at Houston Baptist University and Biola University. I’ve read his book Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics, liked it very much, and have been eager to read the book here. I’m glad I did: The title describes accurately the focus of … [Read more…]
I’ve listed below what I bet are the responses most likely to be given to the question, “Why aren’t you a Christian?,” followed by my brief answers to those responses. “Because the Bible is not reliable.” Actually it is, especially the historicity of the Gospels, which tell us about the life and death and Resurrection … [Read more…]
In the Genesis account of Abraham’s near-sacrifice of Isaac, I think most of us picture Isaac as a child: not a toddler, but not a teenager either, maybe around 10, give or take a couple of years. But what if he were older than that? Remember that Abraham was well over 100 years old, so … [Read more…]
Introduction Elsewhere on this blogsite, I have a post on “What Does Jesus Want?” that has, as one item on the list, that we are to follow the rules laid out in the Old Testament unless they are superseded by something in the New Testament. And, I then continue, it’s not enough just to follow … [Read more…]
Here are the rules that Jesus wants us to follow. Good news you can use, and please forgive the presumption! I’m not saying, of course, that you have to follow these rules all perfectly to go to Heaven. But I think it makes a lot of sense for Christians to think about what Jesus wants … [Read more…]