theosebes

2008-08-19T15:07:00.003-04:00

ESV STUDY BIBLE PROMO VIDEO

It's like Bible MTV. Tullian Tchividjian's hair is even reminiscent of A Flock of Seagulls. The Bible looks great, though. I want one!

Thanks to Mark Bertrand at the Bible Design & Binding Blog for the link.

2008-08-19T14:54:00.004-04:00

WWKJD?

We passed this Missouri church on our recent travels. The focus of the sign amused me, I must admit.

I don't guess they'll be picking up the new ESV Study Bible.

2008-08-19T14:36:00.003-04:00

LIPSCOMB THE LIBERTARIAN

For those of you who have been wondering about the radical libertarian policial economy of David Lipscomb this essay is for you. The author, Edward P. Stringham, ties Lipscomb's pacifist and non-participatory approach to government to modern libertarian economic theory. Yes, I know most of you have already have eyes glazed over, but there are a few of you out there who think that's interesting, too.

Thanks to friend of theosebes Wild Bill for the link.

2008-07-15T12:22:00.003-04:00

THE VALUE OF LIFE

A great deal of hay has been made in the news about the devaluing of the statistical worth of a human life by the EPA, now down to $6.9 million. Since it's the EPA the obvious area of application has been to environmental regulation. However, there seems to me another way of looking at it.

If the government values a human life at around $7 million, then what is annual financial loss to the US caused by the yearly 1.3 million abortions that are performed domestically?

2008-07-08T13:59:00.002-04:00

COLOMBIA EVANGELISM

Luke Chandler is back from his most recent trip to Colombia. You can read all about it on his travel blog. The Chandlers and those who have traveled with them over the years have done excellent work there as churches continue to grow.

2008-07-08T13:27:00.003-04:00

SHAKING THE FOUNDATIONS OF CHRISTIANITY

Over the weekend the press jumped on the latest sensational challenge to Christianity. A stone tablet called 'Gabriel's Revelation' apparently undermines the uniqueness of the Christian story:

[Prof. Israel] Knohl told the [International Herald] Tribune that he interprets the tablet to tell of a messianic figure named Simon, whose death was recorded by the Jewish historian Josephus. The tablet, Knohl contends, was likely written by Simon's followers and demonstrates that messianic followers even before Jesus looked to their leaders rising again, thus nullifying the frequent claim that Jesus' resurrection was a uniquely developed story.

If Knohl's interpretation of "Gabriel's Revelation" is correct, it would lend evidence to his previous theories, published in his 2002 book, "The Messiah before Jesus." Knohl is one of several scholars who suggest Jesus may not have been unique in his claim to face suffering, death and resurrection, but that sources, like this tablet, suggest a common messianic story that New Testament writers may have merely been copying.

"This should shake our basic view of Christianity," Knohl told the Tribune. "Resurrection after three days becomes a motif developed before Jesus, which runs contrary to nearly all scholarship. What happens in the New Testament was adopted by Jesus and his followers based on an earlier messiah story."

Despite this blow to my worldview I still find that I am able to function and type. Two problems spring to mind despite all the hoopla. First is that not only migh Knohl's interpretation of the meaning of the scroll not be correct, but it is damaged in such a way that no one is exactly sure what it says in the first place.

The second is the idea that a resurrected Messiah was something cooked up by first century Christians. When those on the Emmaus road expressed surprise at the resurrection of Jesus to (unbeknownst to them) Jesus, Luke records: "And he said to them, 'O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?' And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." (Luke 24:25-27)

That some expected a resurrected Messiah is not a blow to Jesus or Christianity at all, but rather a confirmation that it was possible to understand the Old Testament Scriptures correctly.

Ah well, good try, anyway. More shocking and foundation shattering discoveries are on the horizon, I'm sure.

2008-07-06T09:20:00.002-04:00

PREACHING THIS MORNING...'Freedom In Christ'. Who was free, Herod--consumed by guilt and fear--or John the Baptist, in prison yet ready to speak the truth without fear of consequences? Is true freedom simply being able to do whatever we desire?

2008-07-02T12:04:00.003-04:00

'PUT SOME GOD IN YOUR POD'...is the catchy tagline at podBible.org. There you can download for free the English Standard Version New Testament for your iPod. I just discovered this and will be attempting it tonight.

2008-06-12T16:25:00.002-04:00

'METHUSELAH' THRIVING

A 2000 year old date palm seed has successfully produced--you guessed it!--a date palm:

The little tree was sprouted in 2005 from a seed recovered from Masada, where rebelling Jews committed suicide rather than surrender to Roman attackers.

Radiocarbon dating of seed fragments clinging to its root, as well as other seeds found with it that didn't sprout, indicate they were about 2,000 years old — the oldest seed known to have been sprouted and grown....

[Dr. Sarah Sallon] hopes there's a chance to use it to restore the extinct Judean date palm, once prized not only for its fruit but also for medicinal uses.

What an amazing thing. A seed from the time when the Temple was still standing and apostles still lived and wrote. May Methuselah do well.

2008-06-10T13:56:00.002-04:00

'OLDEST' CHURCH FOUND?

Archaeologists in Jordan have found an ancient church they argue is the oldest of them all:

"We have uncovered what we believe to be the first church in the world, dating from 33 AD to 70 AD," the head of Jordan's Rihab Centre for Archaeological Studies, Abdul Qader al-Husan, said.

He said it was uncovered under Saint Georgeous Church, which itself dates back to 230 AD, in Rihab in northern Jordan near the Syrian border.

"We have evidence to believe this church sheltered the early Christians -- the 70 disciples of Jesus Christ," Husan said.

These Christians, who are described in a mosaic as "the 70 beloved by God and Divine," are said to have fled persecution in Jerusalem and founded churches in northern Jordan, Husan added.

I'm skeptical of the 'oldest' claim, but it clearly is ancient. It will be interesting to see what they turn up.

2008-06-10T13:30:00.003-04:00

THE GREAT DANIEL COMMENTARY CONUNDRUM

Everyone knows Daniel: the fiery furnace, the lion's den, handwriting on the wall. Great stuff. It's those later chapters that can be a little trickier delving as they do into apocalyptic writing. As with New Testament apocalyptic book Revelation this has led to a lot of wild eyed speculation devolving into commonly accepted premillennial dispensationalism, an approach I reject.

On the other end of the spectrum are the standard commentaries that do reject the dispensational approach. Why not just get a couple of those, you might ask. Daniel is a prophetic book, one that is pretty explicit about its prophecies. So explicit, in fact, that many modern commentators reject outright that it could have been written during the period of the exile at all. Instead, they argue, the book was written later after the events it 'prophesies' as a retrospective. In short, these commentaries do not take Daniel as a historical figure seriously nor the early (ie, exile) date of the book seriously. As someone who does believe that the book was written by the prophet Daniel during the exile these commentaries are also of little use to me.

So what is a non-dispensational Biblical conservative to do as I seek to sail between Scylla and Charybdis?

2008-05-30T11:13:00.004-04:00

PFLEGER'S RANT

The news cycle is abuzz about renegade Catholic priest Michael Pfleger's 'sermon' at Barack Obama's Trinity United Church. It has led to a somewhat predictable Obama apology. This after Obama's spring troubles over Jeremiah Wright. Also at the link is a video clip of Pfleger's bizarre one man drama. Not only is he giving his political commentary from the pulpit, but is also doing it in the verbal equivalent of 'black face', using a stereotypical black-preacher-voice for the entire diatribe. The audience clearly eats it up. I've not seen anyone comment on this guy who looks to be the whitest man on earth trying to sound like Al Sharpton.

Theosebes will refrain from commenting on the politics per se of it all. But aren't these people supposed to be having church? Shouldn't there be some concern about God rather than mocking Hillary's tears? I can't imagine the reaction from the congregants at any church I've ever attended if something like that started from the pulpit. And we wonder why the IRS is starting to sniff around certain churches. If they're going to do that they clearly need to start with Trinity United.

Addendum: By the way, who are these 'ministers' who use profanity from the pulpit? And who are these 'churches' that tolerate it?

2008-05-27T10:45:00.003-04:00

A COUPLE AT FERRELL JENKINS' BLOG

Globetrotter Ferrell Jenkins has just returned from another of his Bible land jaunts. You can keep up with those at his Travel Blog. A couple of posts particularly caught my eye. The first, and most recent, is about the Rylands fragment of the Gospel of John. The fragment was a key find in refuting those who sought a late date for the writing of the gospel. Also take a look at his post on Maps & Geography in Bible Study.

2008-05-27T10:42:00.003-04:00

HOUSEKEEPING: POSTING COMMENTS

I always welcome comments to my posts--well, almost always--but I noticed that I've not been receiving notices of comments in order to approve them for publishing. This has led to an often several day wait until I happen to discover they're there. This seems to be a problem related to my recent move and email address transfer. I believe the problem now to be fixed. All past comments should be approved, and I hope to be able to react more quickly to them in the future.

2008-05-22T00:17:00.004-04:00

CARROTS. AND HICCUPS.

Yes, an odd combination without question. But I noticed years ago that eating raw carrots tended to give me hiccups. It's one of those things that you dismiss at first. But last night we had carrots for supper. Usually cooked carrots aren't an issue, but this time they hit me. Must have been cooked too lightly. So today I did what any self-respecting person would do. I Googled it. After some poking around I found no answer to the condition, but did find a lot of other people have it. I also found the new website CarrotHiccups.com. Alas, there's not too much there yet, but perhaps soon we can have our own certified medical condition.

2008-05-20T13:41:00.005-04:00

ORTHODOX JEWS BURN NEW TESTAMENTS

In an apparent upswing of Christian persecution in Israel, a group of Orthodox Jews collected New Testaments for a public burning:

Orthodox Jews set fire to hundreds of copies of the New Testament in the latest act of violence against Christian missionaries in the Holy Land.

Or Yehuda Deputy Mayor Uzi Aharon said missionaries recently entered a neighborhood in the predominantly religious town of 34,000 in central Israel, distributing hundreds of New Testaments and missionary material.

After receiving complaints, Aharon said, he got into a loudspeaker car last Thursday and drove through the neighborhood, urging people to turn over the material to Jewish religious students who went door to door to collect it.

"The books were dumped into a pile and set afire in a lot near a synagogue," he said.

To some this raises the specter of the holocaust:

Israeli authorities and Orthodox Jews frown on missionary activity aimed at Jews, though in most cases it is not illegal. Still, the concept of a Jew burning books is abhorrent to many in Israel because of the association with Nazis torching piles of Jewish books during the Holocaust of World War II.

So much for inter-faith dialogue, I guess.

2008-05-12T11:23:00.004-04:00

SORRY TO SEE IT GO

Sometimes when you read a book you're just sad to see it end. I finally got around to reading Seabiscuit, by Laura Hillenbrand, finishing it yesterday. I wished I didn't have to finish it. If you've seen the movie--itself quite good--the book really allows you to connect with these long dead figures. Seabiscuit is history well told, history that you want to read with no agenda other than allowing you to look through a window into a bygone era. We can read about people simply living their lives without any idea that someone might write a book about them, yet refusing to quit despite the odds.

We live in a historically myopic era that is cut off from its own past. There are many implications to this, both cultural and policital. There are also religious implications. Our modern age pushes us towards an atomistic approach to life in which we are cut off from not only history, but also family and community, church and God. We can imagine ourselves accountable to no one, able to operate as our own standard. The Bible itself is history, inspired history, certainly. It is the history of God's redemption of man, but also the history of individual men and women who lived real lives and had real struggles. One of Scriptures great messages is that despite clear defeat persevering in God will bring us ultimate victory. What history will you write with your life?

2008-05-11T09:00:00.000-04:00

PREACHING THIS MORNING...'Honor Your Mother'. Not only is Mother's Day a national holiday, but giving due honor to our mothers is an expectation of God.

2008-05-04T10:33:00.001-04:00

PREACHING THIS MORNING...at Hickman Mills, 'Turning the World Upside Down' from the words expressed by the angered Thessalonians in Acts 17. I have preached some version of that sermon on the first Sunday at each church I've worked with.

2008-04-27T15:07:00.003-04:00

PREACHING THIS MORNING...my final sermon at Wilsonville, 'Joshua's Farewell'. No, I'm not Joshua, but since I can't improve on his message to Israel I'm basing my lesson on what he had to say: be strong in doing and keeping God's word, cling to the Lord and love Him knowing that He is always faithful in all that He has promised.

2008-04-17T09:45:00.003-04:00

BERNICE CORNETT, 1918-2008

My grandmother passed away last night, April 16. She was 90 years old. Granny had been in a care facility for the last few months, a situation she was certainly not happy with, but she was unable to function without assistance. As a 16 year old she married my grandfather Oliver in 1934. They had four children together and were married for 57 years until his death in 1991. She was a faithful Christian and has gone to be with her Lord.

As the preacher in the family I've been asked to do the funeral, which is an honor, but also a challenge. Keep us in your prayers.

2008-04-17T09:38:00.003-04:00

THE ESV STUDY BIBLE has been announced for October 15 release. There's even an ESV Study Bible website. It looks to be an impressive endeavor. I particularly like the single column format. More about my interest in the ESV soon.

(Thanks to J. Mark Bertrand at the Bible Design & Binding blog for the link.)

2008-04-14T12:30:00.003-04:00

EVEN MODERATE DRINKING INCREASES BREAST CANCER RISK

A new study has found that women who drink, even in light to moderate amounts, increase their risk of breast cancer significantly:

Women who had less than one drink per day were found to have a 7 percent increased risk of breast cancer compared with those who didn't drink. Those who drank one to two drinks had a 32 percent greater risk; those who drank three or more drinks had up to a 51 percent increased risk. A woman's risk was similar whether she drank beer, wine, or spirits, researchers reported.

This strikes a strong blow to the movement in recent years to promote drinking alcohol, particularly red wine, because of its health benefits. While the health benefits may be real, the risks far outweight any benefit. And as we've discussed here before, drinking grape juice gives one the same heart benefits as drinking red wine without the dangers of alcohol consumption.

2008-04-12T11:09:00.003-04:00

THRIFTY COMMENTARIES

While poking around the books at a thrift store yesterday I rescued these volumes from oblivion for about a dollar each. There were other volumes of the International Critical Commentary there but they had suffered water damage so I left them. One often finds odd and interesting things while thrifting. Some of them are even useful.

2008-04-09T13:35:00.003-04:00

NASB TESTAMENT REBINDING

I know many of you are likely as interested in a beautifully bound Bible as I am. To explore the possibilities bookmark Mark Betrand's wonderfully addictive Bible Design & Binding blog. About a year and a half ago I had some email correspondance with Mark about a Testament that was coming apart on me. I ended up shipping it off to have it rebound. I finally sent Mark some pictures and a write-up about the process, which he has posted today: NASB NT Rebound by McSpadden Book Bindery.