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 […]

Omnitemporal God?

Here’s a thought I’m kicking around:

Is God is omni-temporal (outside of time; yet present in every moment of time)?

If He is also omniscient, then we can properly say that every movement of every man’s actions of every day are written out as if it were in a book before he began […]

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 […]

Creation and Time

The fundamental properties of the universe (space, time and matter) are referenced in the first verse of the first chapter of the first book of the Bible: “In the beginning (Time), God created the heavens (space) and the earth (matter).” Genesis 1:1. Indeed, in the Hebrew Bible, the very first word is “התחלה” which […]

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 […]

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, […]

Hasty Doctrines

If we’re going to study our Bibles properly, we have to develop a robust and consistent method of gleaning concise doctrine from the Bible. One fact is clear and needs repeating: you cannot use stories as foundations for a doctrine. Or to use more formal language, you cannot deduce a prescription from a description. Biblical […]

By Nature, Children of Wrath

In Ephesians, Paul says we are “by nature, children of wrath”.

Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. (Ephesians 2:3)

Whatever could he mean?

Here’s a […]