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...
Interpretation
On to the Use of the OT in the NT
Hopefully by now you have all read the files I posted to prep for this topic. If not, you still have a little time before I pick the first passage we'll look at. I will be posting excerpts during the discussion from Beale and Carson's (eds) Commentary on the Use of...
Historically-Conditioned Scriptures
This short piece was posted by Larry Hurtado today. Good food for thought, especially in the context of our (now old) discussion of inspiration (which we will revisit at some point). Larry targets fundamentalists (read: black and white thinkers) on both the...
Done with Eschatology
Just wanted to sign off on this topic. I really can't muster any more interest in it. Changed my mind on sharing any personal thoughts, other than to say that I believe the reason that many positions can appear coherent is that they are all correct in certain...
Why an Obsession with Eschatology is a Waste of Time, Part 13
Previous post found here: Seventy Weeks Prophecy in Daniel 9: A Messianic Perspective I want to start this post with something I'd do in class during my teaching days at Christian colleges that I think will make this post -- which is about the question of whether...
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...
Why An Obsession with Eschatology is a Waste of Time, Part 10
Continuing on with our series, "why the seventy weeks of Daniel is more complicated than popular prophecy writers tell you -- or even know." This Daniel 9 issue requires especially close attention. It runs so contrary to what all the popular end times experts have...
Understanding the Christian Fundamentalist View of UFOs and Aliens, Part 9
Here is a link to my ongoing eschatology (end times) archive over on my other blog. I'm still showing how any view of end times is based on guesses and presuppositions. I should warn readers at this point, though. If you are married to the pre-trib / pre-mill view of...
Why An Obsession with Eschatology is a Waste of Time, Part 9
Continuing on with the assumptions made in regard to the 70 weeks of Daniel... In the last post we jumped into Daniel 9:24-27 and saw (to the surprise of some I am sure) that, although so many people are sure that the 70 weeks prophecy was about a timeline that had...
Why An Obsession with Eschatology is a Waste of Time, Part 8
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...
Understanding the Christian Fundamentalist View of UFOs and Aliens, Part 8
Readers will recall that we're looking at elements of Christian eschatology as preparatory to me getting into my concerns as to the marriage of one specific view of eschatology to the UFO / ET question on the part of Christians into UFOs and ETs. Here is the latest...
Why an Obsession with Eschatology is a Waste of Time, Part 1
Naked Bible enthusiasts (and despisers) may recall that, long ago, I posted a list of presuppositions that are brought to the Bible that ultimately dictate one's position on eschatology ("end times"). I posted this because all too many Christians assume that their...
Want to Study How the Church Fathers Cited the Bible?
Then I highly recommend this post for its description of an important online resource for just this purpose. It's excellent. Editor's note: resource mentioned can be found here: Home • BiblIndex
The Use of the OT in the NT
I had occasion to send this file to someone by email who asked whether or not NT writers used Second Temple Jewish interpretive methods when handling the OT. They do. We've talked about this subject a couple of times before, so I thought you'd be interested in the...
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...