I just finished a book by William Webb entitled Slaves, Women & Homosexuals: Exploring the Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis. If you aren’t familiar with the word “hermeneutics”, it’s just fancy talk for the study and interpretation of the Bible.  In his book, Webb outlines 18 separate criteria which can be used to judge how culturally bound any particular passage of Scripture might be. And there is no question about it – culture is an important consideration when interpreting the Bible.  I have long been fascinated by culture – the differences in food tastes, holidays, and clothing. But it wasn’t until…

I hear Calvinist preachers reference the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) almost as often as any particular Bible verse. I had never really looked at it until this evening.  It is fascinating that each paragraph is footnoted abundantly with Scripture verses – but it’s not always clear how the quoted verses actually uphold the stated doctrines of the document. Probably the most quoted paragraph of Westminster is the following: “God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeable ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so, as thereby neither is God the…

“The buzz of the inconsequential is the media’s essence.” – Todd Gitlin, quoted in Why Johnny Can’t Preach, by T. David Gordon. Commenting on Gitlin’s words, Gordon writes, “We are swamped by the inconsequential, bombarded by images and sounds that rob us of the opportunity for reflection and contemplation that are necessary to reacquaint ourselves with what is significant” (58).  Then Gordon directs our attention back to his main topic – the weakness of modern preaching: “What kind of ministers does such a culture produce? Ministers who are not at home with what is significant; ministers whose attention span is…

T. David Gordon writes the following in Why Johnny Can’t Preach: “Many Christians will read their Bibles daily for fifty years, and not have one opinion that changes in the entire fifty-year span. Texts do not change or alter or skew their perspective; texts do not move them or shape them; they merely use them as mnemonic devices to recall what they already know.” (49) This is one of those quotes where I am inclined to agree but hope that I am being overly pessimistic.  I do think it is true that most Christians don’t read and study Scripture enough…

I was listening to a John Piper sermon today – he’s a famous Calvinist teacher, author, and preacher.  And I disagree with so much of what he says, but his confidence and his thought process is fascinating to me. In this particular sermon, Piper approvingly related a story from Voddie Baucham (another famous Calvinist preacher) about a student feeling that God hadn’t treated him the way he thought he should. That is, God had allowed too much suffering into this kid’s life.  According to Piper, Voddie’s response to this student – a believer – was spot on: “The main question…

I sometimes wonder how much of a role our Western culture’s (over)emphasis on rationality plays in our experience of the Holy Spirit. (Or lack of experience, as the case may be.) Generally speaking, we don’t believe in ghosts or demons or angels.  And miracles are just coincidences.  My question is this: Could we – would we – experience more of the supernatural if we were more open to it? The arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was heralded by a loud sound and then the sight of a flame which separated into tongues and then a tongue of flame…

I don’t remember ever hearing any teaching on the Holy Spirit in the church I grew up in – at least not in the years when I was old enough to be paying attention on Sunday mornings.  Of course, the Spirit was mentioned. We recited the Apostles’ Creed periodically and sang the Doxology weekly: “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.Praise Him all creatures here below.Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts.Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.“ Somehow, referring to the Spirit of God as “the Holy Ghost” made Him seem remote, unsubstantial, and inconsequential. Perhaps even unbelievable.  After all,…

When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost (Acts 2), the Lord reversed what He had done at the Tower of Babel in the 11th chapter of Genesis.  In Genesis, the generations descended from Noah had the great advantage of speaking one common language. But the result was pure arrogance. They built the great tower to “make a name for themselves”.  And in looking upon the situation, the Lord confirmed that this common language would make humans a bit too full of themselves and a bit too powerful.  So what does it mean that when the Spirit came…

This coming Sunday is Pentecost – the birthday of the Church – so I am preaching on the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples as recorded in the 2nd chapter of Acts.  When all of the disciples began to speak in various languages, the crowds who gathered around were split. Many people were “amazed and perplexed”. These folks asked each other, “What does this mean?” But some mocked the disciples, saying, “They have had too much wine.”  Scott Adams often speaks of the phenomenon he calls “two movies playing on the same screen”. It is a recognition of…