Author: Skip Moen, Ph.D.

  • A Pauline Paradox

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.  Ephesians 2:8-9  NASB Grace/works – I used to think I knew what Paul was writing about.  Decades ago, I had the right theological perspective on Paul.  He was…

  • The Greater Commission

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. Genesis 2:25  NASB Not ashamed – When you read this verse, what mental picture comes to mind?  Something like this:  (Rubens and Brueghel)?[1] We grew up with the 17th century version of Eden, complete with Nordic men and women.  Naked, of course,…

  • Do You?

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.  Mark 12:31  NASB As yourself – Does the psychology of the Bible require self-love before sacrificial love?  When both the Tanakh and the apostolic writings speak about loving your neighbor, the underlying condition seems to be…

  • Fainting

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    A lion has roared! Who will not fear?  The Lord God has spoken! Who can but prophesy?  Amos 3:8  NASB Prophesy – At age twenty-one I graduated from my first university and moved to Switzerland.  “Why?” you might ask.  It was my desire and intention to sit at the feet of Francis Schaeffer.  A missions group I knew promised…

  • Pass Interference

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    It happened in the days of Ahasuerus—that Ahasuerus who reigned over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia.  Esther 1:1  JPS It happened – Some time ago we investigated the Hebrew phrase miqreh (see Today’s Word on Ruth 2:3).[1]  It’s used for “happy accidents,” accidents that are really somehow orchestrated by the invisible…

  • The Birthday Girl 

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”  Genesis 2:18  NASB To be alone – When I wrote Guardian Angel a decade ago, I wanted to correct the false claim that Paul was misogynistic.  I wanted to demonstrate that the common Christian…