Search Results: getting%20honest%20about%20the%20dark
Must wives submit to husbands?
Category: Essays
Tags: Christian Life, Essay, Marriage, Relationships
Topics: Relationships
…a husband yet insists on being head of his wife, however, Paul’s teaching clearly rules out the carnal idea that this headship is about getting “the tie-breaker vote.” In Eph. 5, headship is actually about the opposite of this. The one who holds the power to rule (the husband) should…
The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition
Category: General
Topics: Apologetics, Christology
…a dozen times over the course of researching and writing the book). Initially we planned on a writing a 150 to 200 page popular level book and planned on getting it done in a year. It ended up being a very academic 400 + page book, and it took almost…
How Reliable were the Early Church’s Oral Traditions?
Category: Essays
Tags: Apologetics, Essay, New Testament
Topics: Biblical Reliability
…fiction. (13) Indeed, as we’ve already noted, both the oral tradent and the community share a responsibility to guard the accuracy of the oral tradition, as evidenced by the fact that communities typically interrupt oral performances if they discern the narrator getting something wrong. Because of this historical interest and…
The “Christus Victor” View of the Atonement
Category: Essays
Tags: Atonement, Church, Essay, Jesus, Spiritual Warfare
Topics: Christus Victor view of Atonement, Spiritual Warfare, Cosmic Conflict
…forgiveness is itself rooted in a person getting freed from Satan’s grip. A multitude of other passages capture the same dynamic. Salvation is most fundamentally about escaping “from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will” (2 Tim. 2:26). It is about being…
If salvation depends on our free choice, how are we saved totally by grace?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Free Will, Grace, Predestination, Q&A, Salvation, The Holy Spirit
Topics: Death and Salvation, Providence, Predestination and Free Will, Trinity
…it only imperfectly reflects the way in which God saves us. But it’s helpful in getting at the question we’re presently wrestling with. Would any of those who were finally won over to God’s music be inclined to credit themselves for their dancing? After all their rebellion and all God’s…
Why is the Bible so strict on prohibiting pre-marital sex? What’s the big deal?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Marriage, Q&A, Relationships, Sexuality, Sin, Social Issues
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues, Relationships, Sin
…in sexual intercourse, they become “one flesh.” Jesus says, “they are no longer two, but one” and “what God has joined together, no one should separate” (Mt 19:5-6). Intercourse clearly involves much more than two people getting physically intimate with each other. God himself is involved in creating a new…
William Wilberforce and the Possibility of “Christian” Politics
Category: Essays
Tags: Essay, Kingdom Living, Politics
Topics: Creation Care, Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
…it easy for English folks to benefit from the slave trade without any pain of conscience, especially since the slave industry propagated the lie that slaves actually faired better under British authority than they did in their own native countries. The main challenge Wilberforce faced, therefore, was getting Parliament and…
Why the 35W Bridge Collapsed – blog post 8/09/2007
Category: General
Tags: Current Events, Free Will, Open Theism, Predestination
Topics: Open Theism, The Problem of Evil
…the world is an oppressed place where things sometimes go tragically wrong and focus all of our mental and physical energy turning from our self-centered ways to carry out God’s will “on earth as it is in heaven.” That, after all, was what Jesus was getting at in Luke 13:1-5….
What is the significance of Psalm 106:23?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: Psalm 106
…somewhat duplicitous? If the outcome was eternally known to God, can we avoid getting the impression that he was playing a Machiavellian game with his prophet? If we trust that God is above such antics, however, we must accept the straightforward meaning of this verse. Accepting this view has the…
What’s the signficance of Judges 10:6-17
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: Judges 10
…their repentance wasn’t genuine, told them he wasn’t going to rescue them and that they should go ahead a “cry out to the gods you have chosen” (vss. 13-14). The Israelites wisely responded by getting rid of their foreign gods and to serve Yahweh alone, and Yahweh, for his part,…
What is the significance of Numbers 14:11?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: Numbers 14
…Eve were, for example, was he really ignorant of their location (Gen. 3:8–9)? Obviously not. He was speaking rhetorically as a means of getting Adam and Eve to confess their sin. But why then should we not interpret divine questions about the future in the same fashion? The answer to…
What is the significance of Exodus 3:18–4:9?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: Exodus 3
…he is looking for (e.g. getting the elders of Israel to listen to Moses) even though he must work with free agents who are, to some extent, unpredictable. He relies on his infinite wisdom and a degree of providential guidance in order to accomplish his goals. We have difficulty fathoming…
Why do you have such a pessimistic view of government?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Politics, Q&A, Social Issues
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
…“please our commanding officer” by imitating his example and thereby furthering the work of his Kingdom. To do this, it is imperative we don’t become preoccupied with “civilian affairs.” The politics of the world are “civilian affairs,” and it’s crucial Kingdom soldiers not get distracted by getting entangled in them….
Living With a Kingdom Consciousness
Category: Essays
Tags: Discipleship, Essay, Kingdom Living
Topics: Following Jesus
…if not our “Christian duty.” After all, we fight not only for our country, but, as Americans often say, we fight “for God and country.” The long and bloody history of war has shown that its hard to motivate young people to risk getting killed and to kill others unless…
Upcoming Opportunity
Category: General
…makes the front page of the Times!). Well, I’ve learned that getting on the front page of the New York times gets you a lot of attention. So its been a wild and wonderful but extremely-busy-and-occasionally -stressful -but -always -exciting couple of months. It’s just starting to simmer down a…
Greg Boyd and Jim Wallis Discuss Politics & Faith
Category: General
…there is absolutely no biblical precedent. Not only this, but the political “bull’s-eye” can have at least two unfortunate consequences. First, if our “bull’s-eye” is encouraging people to participate in politics in a certain way, we run the risk of people getting distracted from our call to sacrificially serve the…
Reflections on a Costa Rican Vacation
Category: General
…when the sun was a bit less intense, we went to the beach — the most beautiful beach I’ve ever been to. Most of us spent a good deal of time boogie boarding. It was a riot. After six years of trying to boogie board, I was finally getting the…
Practicing the Presence 3-24-07
Category: General
…choice to give up on finding LIFE in the world yesterday?” The only relevant question is; Are you free from the futile attempt to acquire LIFE from the world now?” Are you getting your life, worth, security and significance from your Creator this moment? Practice his presence and be blessed….
What About the Military? 4-9-07
Category: General
…when you claim “our mission” also includes “protecting our families” and even killing “when we have to,” I’m honestly wondering where you’re getting your ideas. Where in the New Testament does one find anything resembling such ideas? I know common sense and normal nationalistic sentiments teach us such things. Universal…
Is the Kingdom Invisible?
Category: General
…Calvary-quality love. The kingdom is present whenever people are getting their life from Christ alone and therefore are increasingly looking like Jesus, doing what Jesus did, and obeying what Jesus taught. When people refuse to retaliate, choosing instead to return evil with good as Jesus and Paul taught us, the…