The Bible answers the most important questions we can ask: Where did we come from? What matters? Who can we trust? Who is God? Is he good? Who is Jesus? Why did he die? Did his life end in failure? How can we be counted among his followers? How should we treat our enemy? Where […]
One more take on assumptions: A collared dog tied to a 12 foot rope finds a way, without breaking its rope, or shaking its collar, to reach a bone that is 15 feet away. How does he do it? Am wondering if a riddle this could help us come to terms with difficult puzzles of […]
Could it be possible that the God of the Bible demands of us what we cannot do, intervenes to rescue some of us, and then condemns the rest to suffer forever for not doing what they never had the ability to do? More specifically, when the Bible tells us that we are born “dead in […]
On the way home from work last night, I saw this billboard on one of our busiest streets. The prediction has been showing up around the country. According to the sponsoring group, judgment day, and the end of the world as we know it, comes on May 21, 2011. Look close. The sign promises “The […]
For an interesting conversation, read again the 9th chapter of John’s Gospel. It has so many good lines about a blind beggar who can’t see until Jesus heals him, and two groups of people whose sight isn’t nearly as good as they think it is. The chapter starts with Jesus’ disciples asking a question about […]
According to the Bible, some of the last words of Christ were spoken through his angel to the Apostle John, exiled to the Aegean Island of Patmos. But what are we to make of Jesus’ message when he says in 22:14, ‘Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the […]
Perfectionism can be a wonderful gift, a guiding star, a brutal club, or self-absorbed agony. The option we identify with may depend on how we are reading the Bible. For example, some of the language of the book of Revelation can be disturbingly confusing, because it seems to require “perfectionistic” faithfulness. As indicated in our […]
The 18th and 19th verses of Revelation 22 describe severe consequences to anyone who either takes away or adds to the words of the prophecy. Apocalyptic plagues are promised to those who add to the book. Even worse, the Tree of Life and City of God are to be taken from those who subtract from […]
In screenwriter Robert McKee’s book, Story, he says that the question of whether plot or character is more important to a story is as old as Aristotle. He went on to say that Aristotle weighed each and concluded that story is primary, character secondary. McKee goes on to explain that this perspective on storytelling held […]
I have some questions about how book reading clubs work and am hoping that some of our friends may have had experiences in them that might throw some light on how we read the Bible. If you’ve ever participated in a book club that has gotten together to discuss books (not a Bible study), I […]
