as it is written: “There is no righteous person, not even one;” Romans 3:10 NASB As it is written – How many times do you suppose you read these words in the Bible? “As it is written” becomes the catch phrase for the next prooftext. Paul is particularly fond of this method, but it’s found…
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:8 NASB Word – Western paradigms focus on answers. Experience is reduced to principles in order that we may predict and control. In fact, the entire enterprise of science, a principal characteristic of the Western mind, is an effort to…
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 2 Timothy 3:16 NASB Scripture– Let’s follow up on yesterday’s lengthy (I apologize) description of the Bible as a book about human encounters with God. Peter Enns adds some important insight: Seeing God as a character in the story who…
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 2 Timothy 3:16 NASB Scripture– “I wrote that when I was stupid.” So said David Flusser when questioned by one of his students about an article he published years before. That’s how I feel today. If you ask me…
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:8 NASB Word of our God – Yesterday we discovered the awful truth that there was no such thing as “the Bible” until the Christian Church, and particularly the Protestant Christian Church, created a sacred book. In the first century,…
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:8 NASB Word of our God – The Foreword to the New American Standard Bible (1995) reads as follows: The New American Standard Bible has been produced with the conviction that the words of Scripture as originally penned in the…
All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; 2 Timothy 3:16 NASB Inspired – Please don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to poke holes in your favorite English Bible translation. But I do want to point out that there might be a great many…
As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. Psalm 18:30 NIV The Lord’s word – My apologies. This edition is a bit academic, but it needs to be since the issues surrounding the canon and the Bible require scholarly investigation. For those who read the Bible…
As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. Psalm 18:30 NIV Flawless – Yes, that’s right. The title of this little investigation is not “the Bible.” It is “the Bibles.” Why? Because there is no such thing as the Bible. Hold on! Take a deep breath—and…
No verse today. Just some personal reflections. For many years now, you and I have been exploring the origins of our faith. That means investigating the history of the ideas that we once accepted as part of our religious beliefs. What I’ve learned, and perhaps what you have also learned, is that most of my…
