(11 minutes) Jesus said, “How hard for those possessing wealth to enter the Kingdom of God, for it is easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.” And those hearing this said, “Can any… Continue reading
One might wonder if all this analysis is no more than a pedantic waste of time. Actually, it gets to the heart of Paul’s understanding of the gospel. Continue reading
(9 minutes) In the first two articles in this series, we looked at the doctrine of original sin and how Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity differed in their understanding of this concept. We saw that Western Christianity taught that we inherit both the guilt and the consequences of the sin… Continue reading
In several places on this blog, I point out that our word “evangelism” comes from the Greek word used in the New Testament for “good news.” The church did not invent the word euaggelion. Roman propaganda used the term to refer to the “good news” brought by the emperor as… Continue reading
On September 13, 2022, the Pew Research Center and the General Social Survey released some alarming statistics. In the early 1960s, approximately 90% of the U S population identified as Christian (this percentage included children). In 2020, only 64% identified as Christian. The number of people who identify as religiously… Continue reading
For most people the word “evangelism” conjures up images of tent revivals, pleading evangelists, threats of hell, promises of heaven, and “getting saved.” Evangelism is all some churches and Christians want to talk about while in other churches it is one of the most uncomfortable topics imaginable. One of the… Continue reading
Two useful words when considering the role of Scripture in formulating our individual and corporate theologies in our unique time and place are exegesis and hermeneutics. Exegesis comes from the Greek word exthegeisthai meaning “to lead out/to explain/to interpret”. Exegesis is a critical investigation of a text within its various… Continue reading
Within the Jewish and Christian faiths, creation and redemption are intimately related. Creation is ultimately the product of the will of its Creator. Such a creation is cherished and sustained by God. God, who is omnipresent, is present through each part of creation from the intricacies of the atom to… Continue reading
The use of metaphors is a very important way for humans to express themselves and abstract or complex concepts and actions. Here is a useful definition of metaphor: A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn’t literally true, but helps… Continue reading
The royal proclamation is not simply the conveying of true information about the kingship of Jesus. It is the putting into effect of that kingship, the decisive and authoritative summoning to allegiance. Paul discovered, at the heart of his missionary practice, that when he announced the lordship of Jesus Christ,… Continue reading
