1 Thess 5:2
“The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” – Chicken Little
Paul wrote his first letter to the church in Thessalonica, which scholars date to the early 50’s CE making it probably the oldest document in the New Testament, largely to send greetings and encouragement, but also to assuage a fear that had arisen in the church. The New Testament provides ample evidence that the early church eagerly anticipated the Continue reading “Like a Thief in the Night” 1 Thess 5:2
We teach children the adage, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” to equip them against hateful and harmful things that people say. The saying means to remind people – the adults passing it on and the children learning it – that what people say about us does not necessarily have anything to do with who we actually are. Continue reading Sticks and Stones
Gen 32:28
Translating from one language to another always involves imprecision and a degree of informed speculation. Such is especially the case with dead languages since the translator cannot have access to a native speaker for advice. One passage in Genesis has long intrigued me because the almost universally accepted translation does not seem to fit the Continue reading Because he could
Matt 22:21
The political season began in earnest yesterday. It seems to me that politics represent “an attractive menace” for Christians. What can be more important than determining the values and policies that govern everyone’s everyday lives? Christians must be interested and involved. On the other hand, of course, lie the temptations to exercise control over others, to mistake temporal concerns for eternal, to compromise the core of Christian identity, and a host of others. I addressed these concerns in a series of lectures entitled “Baptist Polity, Biblical Theology, and Responsible Citizenship” delivered as the Solon B. Cousins Lectures at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond March 29-30, 2016. Below is an excerpt outlining what I believe to be the principle temptations. The full text of the lectures is available under the “Sermons and Lectures” tab on this website.
The ant is knowing and wise, but [it] doesn’t know enough to take a vacation.
– Clarence Day
I am, hopefully, smarter than an insect, so I will be visiting family and friends for the next couple of weeks. Working less, at least. Watch this space for an entry July 13.
“Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thess 5:17)
Two of the last three entries in this blog have reflected on ministry and vocation. This entry concludes the series (I think).
As I have been thinking about what it means to do God’s work in today’s world, I have held in the back of my mind the fact that the Bible begins the story of humankind with the Continue reading Ora et Labora
Job 41:12
The results of the newly released Pew Research Center survey of the influence of religion on the everyday lives of Americans reveals that those who pray daily and worship weekly also participate in extended family life, engage in charitable giving or service, and report that they are “happy” in significantly greater degrees than the “non-religious” segment of Continue reading There is a Wildness in God’s Mercy
The Danger of Genre Confusion
During the initial days of the First Gulf War, several local news outlets contacted me wanting to know whether events in the Persian Gulf were fulfilling biblical prophecies against Babylon. I am sure that they expected the Baptist Old Testament professor at the local college to detail an apocalyptic panorama for them. Instead, I told them, simply,