The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination

Introduction The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination is one of the most profound yet misunderstood doctrines of Scripture. The main question that is often asked by those who don't understand it is, "How can you believe that God chooses some people to be saved and not others? That doesn't seem fair." While it's true that we [...]

How Christianity Needs to Change in 2021

The year that brought us COVID also saw the most significant changes in the Christian Church in generations. Moving online, fighting regulations, and ministering to congregations at a distance has been a challenge. However, COVID-19 is not the only issue facing the church last year. We have seen 2020 continue the repeated drumbeat of scandal [...]

Jesus the Rabbi?

Many people assume Jesus never had any type of education except that which was common for most Jewish men in Nazareth in his day. However, some scholars disagree. A couple of hints in Scripture may point to the idea that Jesus received theological training. First, Jesus was often referred to as Rabbi (Matthew 26:25, 26:49; [...]

Paul of Tarsus

Paul was from the city of Tarsus, an economic hub in its day. Some believe there were thousands of Jews living in this city of over 100,000 people at the time of Paul. What many do not know is that Tarsus was a philosophical hub of the day. When Athens, center of philosophy in the [...]

Answering your questions on the Religious Right and Conservative Christianity

Many know that I am conservative theologically and politically, but have been vocal against the Religious Right over the last few years. For the last few months, I have answered many of these questions repeatedly and placed them here for your enjoyment or ridicule. As a background, I invite you to read this article in [...]

Selective Reporting over Psalmist and II Corinthians Gaffes

When Donald Trump "mispronounced" II Corinthians, saying Two Corinthians, the moral outrage machine hit high gear. Various news stations like CSpan, MSNBC, and Social Media highlighted Trump's blunder. I am somewhat amused when Joe Biden mispronounced Psalmist at "Palmist," the moral outrage is absent in the same venues who made much of Trump's blunder, but the right-leaning [...]

Triggers: The Destruction of the American Mind

Last night before midnight, a Supreme Court ruling allowed churches to continue to meet without a New York Executive Order's severe limits. The decision was 5-4.   Reading through social media, I found few had read the actual decision, much less the concurring and dissenting opinions. Almost no one read the New York Executive Order. Instead [...]

Supreme Court Rules on Religious Liberty: SCOTUS Blocks Cuomo’s Restrictions on Places of Worship.

In a 5-4 Decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Cuomo's religious worship restrictions are likely unconstitutional and blocked these restrictions until the courts can hear the full case. Chief Justice John Roberts ruled with the liberal justices, but his rationale was somewhat different. In the majority opinion, SCOTUS ruled the mandate placed potentially harsher restrictions [...]

Christians and the Biden Administration

Several weeks ago, Senator Ben Sasse, during the Amy Coney Barrett confirmation hearing, differentiated between civics and politics. His excellent 8th-grade civics/politics lesson delivered for the entire nation, distinguished civics as what we should all agree on, and politics as what we fight over and debate.   Take about 2 1/2 minutes to listen to his lesson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzhnOBKsqhA Ben [...]

Polls: Inaccurate but may have caused Biden to win the election

When the news agencies called Florida for Al Gore in 2000 before all the polls were closed, chaos ensued. Eventually, George W. Bush prevailed, but the news agencies' impulsive act caused many people in more Republican-dominated areas to stay home. People in the more conservative western panhandle heard the state called for Gore, and some [...]