I was going to try and address Daniel 9:24-27 in one post and then move into another point of eschatology, but the comments have persuaded me that this passage needs close scrutiny. My reason for that is the same as it has been for this entire series: I want readers...
Interpretation
Can We Please Stop Appealing to Rabbis for Biblical and Ancient Text Interpretation?
I have this topic stuck in my head today in the wake of some conversations with folks about the Dead Sea Scrolls. But it could just as well be about interpreting any passage in the Hebrew Bible. I've grown weary of people (especially in Christian Middle Earth)...
Mike’s Being Talked About a Lot Lately (Or So It Seems)
Just a personal note. I've been hearing (and seeing, in email) my own name a lot recently -- how I (allegedly) believe or don't believe XYZ, or how someone is suspicious of me, or how I need to debate some person. Sigh. For the record (this is a laziness test for...
Naked Bible Conference Speaker and Topic Profile #3
Over the last couple days I've profiled the topics of Dr. Bill Arnold (panbabylonianism) and Dr. Archie Wright (Satan in Second Temple literature and the NT). Today the focus is Dr. John Hilber, whose session is entitled, "Since When Is Literal Interpretation...
Does the Bible Teach Science? How the Bible’s Own Context Answers the Question
Here's the latest "infographic" video from Shaun. I think this audience will appreciate it a lot and find it useful for helping others to think through this issue. I've written (and commented in podcast episodes) that the Bible was not intended (by God) to teach...
The Harbinger: Ode to Biblical Illiteracy
I've been asked by a couple of readers if I'd read the best-selling book by Jonathan Cahn, The Harbinger. It reminded me of a day back in an apologetics class that I took with Norm Geisler. An enthused student asked Geisler when he came into the room whether he'd read...
Thoughts on Prophecy: Embracing the Messiness
Some of you know via other interactions that I'm currently teaching a four-week class at my church on interpreting prophecy. (Yes, I got talked into it). This past Thursday was the first session. My goal throughout the four weeks will be to convince people that...
Were New Testament Writers Hermeneutical Hacks?
For those of you who read comments what follows will be familiar. I've been chatting back-and-forth with someone named John Loftus, who is an atheist and has a blog called debunking Christianity. One of the issues upon which John focused was what he perceives as...
Promotion of Racist Theories Using the Bible
I recently discovered a book that I can't wait to read called Adam's Ancestors: Race, Religion, and the Politics of Human Origins (author: David Livingstone; Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008). The book is about how, in response to Darwinism, certain 19th and 20th...
Why An Obsession with Eschatology is a Waste of Time, Part 11
As you read this, bear in mind again I am not taking a position or describing where I'm at with all this. My goal is to show the ins-and-outs of how Daniel 9:24-27 could be viewed (i.e., the "self evident" problem). Previous post found here: Reevaluating the 70 Weeks...
Blogging with Dr. Barry, Part 5
Sorry I got away from the "Blogging with Barry" series. I have to admit I'm getting a little bored with it, especially given the startlingly poor logic Dr. Downing is bringing forth to defend his ideas (it just gets repetitive). I think for what remains of his...
Blogging with Dr. Barry, Part 2
As before, I'll preface my comments with "MSH" and indent them. Everything else is Dr. Downing's. ------ One way to respond to this kind of charge is to take the texts that Heiser mentions, and show why I think my hermeneutics is not as radical or serious a violation...
A Brief Note on Contextualizing the Bible (Especially OT)
One of the responders accuse me of being extrabiblical in my approach to Romans 5:12. Actually, I'm being explicitly biblical, since I refuse to de-contextualize the Bible in favor of rendering interpretations that are comfortable, or that are European, American, or...
Great Moments in Pulpit PaleoBabble
Here's a YouTube video that's a real treat (if you like PaleoBabble on Sunday morning). The sermon is about "alpeh and tav" -- the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The minister (?) equates this with the description of Jesus as the first and the last,...
Naked Bible 55: Dr. Ronn Johnson
Interview with Dr. Ronn Johnson In this episode Mike chats with his friend and co-conspirator in divine council research, Dr. Ronn Johnson. Ronn and Mike met as undergraduates in Bible college in the early 1980s. Ronn has a PhD in Bible Exposition (Old and New...