Positive Infinity » Bible Studies and Church Issues

The Sad Case of Gerry McClelland, and My Thoughts on Assisted Suicide

me — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:33:14 +0000

Being the anniversary month of Roe vs. Wade, January is a good month to look at issues of life. Most of the emphasis is on abortion, but we must consider the other end of life, too, when it occurs, and whose decision it is for that occurrence to take place. Over at the Ancient Star-Song, …

Is There a Real Difference Between the Demands of the Modern State and Emperor Worship in Rome?

me — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:33:11 +0000

Maybe not: Since 1789 the United States government has presented its Christian citizens with no moral problem of critical magnitude. This may mean that the moral integrity of the United States is magnificent; it may also mean that Christian citizens do not recognise a public moral problem when they see it. In the morality of …

Lesson from Tim Tebow: Life Is Better When We Focus on the Problems of Others

me — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:19:13 +0000

ESPN’s Rick Reilly believes in Tim Tebow, after a long search for faults: I’ve come to believe in Tim Tebow, but not for what he does on a football field, which is still three parts Dr. Jekyll and two parts Mr. Hyde. No, I’ve come to believe in Tim Tebow for what he does off …

To Go Back to “The Old Time Religion,” You Must First Prove That It Is

me — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:59:39 +0000

Dan Tomberlin’s post on the “old time religion” deals with a subject that conveys one thing to one group of people and one thing to another. The whole business of “religion” has gotten a great deal of press thanks to Jefferson Bethke’s video and this relates to that in an indirect way, but this is …

The Real Reason Daniel Was Thrown Into the Lions’ Den

me — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 23:00:38 +0000

Although one underestimates Biblical ignorance at one’s peril, the story of Daniel in the lions’ den is well known to many. Most Christians would interpret Daniel getting pitched into same den as a result of his refusal to worship a god or gods other than the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. If one reads …

An Episcopalian’s Appeal to Authority Falls Flat

me — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:30:51 +0000

Although I’m sure his Presiding Bishop finds this post suitable for framing, somehow Episcopal minister Frederick Schmidt’s appeal to the authority of the church doesn’t quite connect. Let’s start with the issue he uses to illustrate his point: the proper colour for Advent: In a recent dust-up over liturgical colors, a colleague of mine was …

…we should prioritize everything on the basis of who will cry at our funeral.

me — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 04:55:24 +0000

From Patrick Morley’s Second Wind for the Second Half: No man can do everything he wishes. Choices must be made…For our personal decision making we should conduct a little civilian triage: Who can’t live without you, or you without them? Who would be nice to help if you don’t have to neglect the first group? …

Do We Have Nestorians Teaching in Our Seminaries?

me — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 04:00:16 +0000

Sure sounds like it: During the first centuries of the church the greatest theological controversy sought to answer the question, “How is Jesus of Nazareth God?” A full discussion of the Christological developments can fill a library with books. I want to briefly address only one issue – the significance of Theotokos, which says that …

Pentecostal Biblical Studies: Is Going Back to the Source Really All That Bad?

me — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 22:06:34 +0000

It seems that my friends in the Pentecostal academic world have come up with another interesting link, this time to Jaques Berlinerbau’s An Afternoon With the Society for Pentecostal Studies. It’s an opportunity for me to opine on a subject that has lurked in the background ever since my brother’s unfavourite Episcopal minister taught me …

Baptists: the “One Way Calvinists” Split Over Making It a Two-Way Street

me — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:12:32 +0000

George Conger documents the growing split in the Southern Baptist Convention over the adoption of Calvinism: The question of Calvinism is one of the major challenges facing American Christianity today, a leader of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) said last month. In an 18 October 2011 interview posted on the website of SBC Today, the …