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In an over-polarized era, labels abound. Liberal, RINO, socialist, neo-con, Nazi, Marxist, racist—all these and more aren’t meant to be descriptive but dismissive. Especially when we assign the additional labels of good or evil to people. Labels shut down discussion. We use them to put people—who at that...
There are a few—and just a few—New Testament passages that people like to use to buttress their argument that Jesus was not really non-violent but in fact at the very least accepted violence in certain circumstances. I don’t know why people feel the need to do so, but they do, so let’s have a look at one of...
“Whoever is not with me is against me.” “Whoever is not against us is for us.” Jesus made both of these statements, and they aren’t different ways of saying the same thing. The first, from Matthew 12:20, restricts the number of people who are for Jesus to those who are with him. If you aren’t specifically...
What do you do when two verses are in obvious conflict with each other? I’m not talking about apparent conflict or even factual inconsistencies but when one verse uses the exact same words to as another to say the completely opposite thing? As if one is saying, “No, that’s wrong, here’s what is really going...
Mixed messages can be frustrating, especially when they come from the Bible. Take, for instance, when Jesus tells his disciples in Mark 10:15 that they must receive the kingdom of God as a little child. With childlike faith, we say: open, trusting, even innocent. Then Hebrews turns around and upbraids its...
Going through the wilderness is never fun or easy, but it’s sometimes necessary. I’m not talking about camping in the wilds; some people do find that fun. I’m talking about those times when life is precarious, fraught with danger or uncertainty, when you don’t know what to do or who to turn to. When the...
Why We Shouldn’t Label People
If Jesus was Non-Violent, Why Did He Tell His Disciples to Buy Swords?
If An Evil Person Does a Good Thing, Is It Good or Evil?
Plowshares Into Swords, Or Swords Into Plowshares?
A Mature Faith is Childlike Not Childish
The Wilderness Experience in the Bible
Welcome!
I am a lifelong student of the Bible, and have been a pastor for over twenty-five years. My desire through this blog is to help people see things in the intersection of Scripture and real life that they might have missed. The careless handling of the Bible is causing a lot of problems in our churches and our culture--and is literally turning people away from the church, and, sometimes, God. I hope to treat Scripture with the respect it deserves, and, even if you don't agree with what I say, give you some insight.
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