Open Theism VS 1 Samuel 23

Open Theists will regularly champion 1 Sam 23 as a defense for God not knowing the future. The problem is that 1 Sam 23 only defends Open Theism if you 1) limit your analysis to 1st stage thinking, and then 2) add an argument from silence. But should you follow through with the consequences […]

Slave Destinations

Most people are not aware that of the 12.5 million slaves dragged off the shores of Africa, only 4% arrived in the US/colonies. The majority of the slaves went to south and central America (and the Caribbean Islands). Folks interested in these kinds of numbers would appreciate taking a look at the TransAtlantic Slave […]

On Racism and Systemic Racism

I had a couple of interesting conversations about race with a couple of guys from church over the past week. One is black, the other is white. Both went to seminary, and neither are on the ‘woke’ end of the spectrum.

During the conversation, I asked them to define “systemic racism”. One guy paused […]

Legitimate Biblical Slavery?

Some Christian folks in the West like to act as if slavery was the biggest sin in the history of mankind, and that the USA, which, according to them, was “built on slavery”, stands as Criminal #1. Or maybe Criminal #2, since Adolph takes up place #1. It’s interesting to watch them squirm when […]

Online Resources

There is a vast repository of quality teaching available on YouTube. Unfortunately, there is a lot more dirt than gold. Here is a list of YouTube channels and lecture series that I have found beneficial. Each of the teachers are highly qualified, are published authors, and have taught courses at various universities. Each of […]

On Gun Crimes in the USA

A collection of random-ish facts about gun crimes in the USA.

A good bit of effort has been spent to stick with reliable sources and raw numbers. To that end, newspaper articles (which may or may not properly explain relevant data) are not cited in this page. National crime statistics are readily available at the […]

KJVO Issues with Hebrews 1:6

I frequently run into KJVOs (King James Onlyists) who cannot seem to understand why Hebrews 1:6 nullifies their belief that “the King James is the one and only perfectly true pure and preserved word of God, and all other modern translations are corrupt.” Hopefully this article will shed some useful light on this question.

The […]

A Simplistic Parable About Worldviews

I’m occasionally befuddled by the simplicity with which large portions of the planet’s population seem to thrive. I’m reminded of Socrates: “The unexamined life is the life not worth living”. I think he was being extreme, but the fact remains: if a life (or a worldview) is not examined, one cannot realistically expect consistent success, […]

Yahtzee Score Card

We made a special Yahtzee game for some friends.

The goal was to have dice that were 2″ across and score cards 2x the size of the original. And the cards had to look spot-on like the 1950s originals.

But since I had neither the time nor the inclination to purchase vintage originals from eBay, […]

With Friends Like Matthew’s…

I’ve always been a bit leery of the use of the word “friend” in the 22nd chapter of Matthew. That’s the parable about the king who throws a wedding banquet for his son. The invited people refuse the invitation and kill the messenger, so the king kills them and burns their cities. But because he […]