We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.

“You” Means “Y’all”

Self Portrait of a self portrait of a self portrait of a self portrait 

Mrs Logic via Compfight

Justin Hiebert over at Empowering Missional wrote a piece last week titled The Bible isn’t for you. Justin rightly points out that our individualistic mindset has caused us to misread huge portions of the Bible. He challenges us to read the Bible as a community rather than as individuals. It seems like a small thing, but it has important implications not only for how we read scripture, but also for how we understand ourselves and our mission in the world.

From the blog post:

If we leave the focus on the singular (what you personally need to do) it is really hard to build genuine community. We entrust that each person has to do it all, and do it all by themselves. But then when we gather, we are not a community but a collective of individuals. God calls us to more than collective individualism but to genuine community. A place where people are transformed together into the perfect reflection of Christ in the world.

Related Reading

A Dialogue with Derek Flood: Is the Bible Infallible?

I’m happy to see that Derek Flood has responded to my four part review of his book, Disarming Scripture. His response—and, I trust, this reply to his response—models how kingdom people can strongly disagree on issues without becoming acrimonious. And I am in full agreement with Derek that our shared conviction regarding the centrality of…

The Way We Disagree Matters

Rachel Held Evans posted her reflections on the ways we interact over differences in Biblical interpretation. It’s an important topic as we live out the kingdom among one another in our polarizing environment. How do you maintain a Christ-like posture when you are attacked or when others question your devotion to Christ when you express…

Podcast: If Jesus is the Word of God, Why Call the Bible the Word of God?

Stories and words and Bible nerds.  http://traffic.libsyn.com/askgregboyd/Episode_0459.mp3

On Biblical Interpretation

chad via Compfight Today we’re linking to a blog post from Rachel Held Evans about Biblical interpretation. In her post, Rachel writes about the complexities Christians encounter when our scriptural interpretations differ (emphasis is Rachel’s): What is perhaps most frustrating about engaging in such conversations within the evangelical community in particular, however, is that differences…

Why Bart Ehrman Doesn’t Have to Ruin Your Christmas (Or Your Faith) Part 4

This is the fourth of several videos Greg put together to refute Bart Ehrman’s claims published in the article What Do We Really Know About Jesus? We hope you’re enjoying these! They really provide a great overall approach to Biblical Criticism. If you missed the first three installments you can find them here, here and here.

New Testament Support for the Warfare Worldview

Warfare in Jesus’ Ministry The theme of God striving to establish his sovereign will (his Kingdom) on earth over and against forces that oppose him is prevalent in the New Testament. In keeping with the apocalyptic climate of the time, there are many references to angels at war with God, demons that torment people, and…