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Continue reading →: How faithful are the nations?The role of the nations was ambiguous in the Old Testament stories and prophecies. On the one hand they were often denounced as God’s opponents by the prophets of Israel, as both idolatrous and oppressive. On the other hand they were sometimes announced as God’s agents by the prophets of Israel,…
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Continue reading →: On clothing standards and sexual harassmentI am seeing many criticism of women who dress scantily yet complain of sexual harassment. May I offer a response by way of analogy? One could certainly question the wisdom of fighting theft by putting your jewellery in the front window of your home. But such silliness on the part…
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Continue reading →: Exploring the Bible story as a chiasmI have not often made this so explicit, but I tend to view the Bible story as a five act drama with a chiastic structure. I would illustrate it most simply as follows: A: Creation B: Covenant C: Christ B’: Church …
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Continue reading →: The alabaster jar of our livesIn the Gospel of Luke the following story is told, “A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began…
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Continue reading →: The Satanic Verses: Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 24It seems to me that much of what the church has said about the fall of Satan over the years is based on figurative (specifically: anagogic) interpretation of Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 24 rather than literal interpretation. Indeed, if we were to restrict ourselves to literal interpretation there would not…
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Continue reading →: Is it okay for Christians to pray to saints?As a Protestant, I am sure you are expecting me to answer no, and insist that prayer should be directed to God alone. And you’re right, that is my position. What may surprise you though, is that I concede that the official Catholic position is much the same. How is…
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Continue reading →: Is entertainment the only cure for boredom?When people say they find church boring, is it entertainment they’re lacking? Or challenge? In his article, Amusing Ourselves To Death, Neil Postman said “I believe I am not mistaken in saying that Christianity is a demanding and serious religion. When it is delivered as easy and amusing, it is another kind of…
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Continue reading →: A guide to Buddhist hand gesturesBuddhist art frequently depicts Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and other deities with their hands forming a number of different ritualised and stylised gestures (Mudras). They may be holding different objects as well within these gestures. Each by itself and in combination with others have specific meanings. Some of the more common ones…
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Continue reading →: Sola scriptura and Solo scripturaIn essence, while both sola scriptura and solo scriptura place scripture in a veto position above tradition, the latter refers to approaches that go way beyond what the Protestant Reformers intended, denying any need for any reference to tradition when interpreting scripture. I found the summary of Jeremy Myers of…
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Continue reading →: Deconstructing Mary: Beliefs About The Mother of God That I Have Laid AsideI do not believe in the immaculate conception of Mary But I do believe Mary was blessed amongst women I do not believe in the perpetual virginity of Mary But I do believe Mary was a virgin up to the birth of Jesus I do not believe in the bodily assumption of Mary …
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