Christian Leaders Trip with Canyon Ministries
I just got back from a seven-day trip down two thirds of the Grand Canyon with Canyon Ministries, William D. Barrick, Terry Mortenson, and (especially) knowledgeable Cedarville University geologist John Whitmore. I gained a much deeper understanding of the geology of the canyon, and I came to a more firm and educated faith about the straightforward teaching of Genesis 1–11. Whitmore is an expert in the Coconino sandstone layer, and his talks were fascinating. The many conversations with my 20+...
The Story of Ἀρσενοκοίτης according to BDAG
The following is a paper I delivered at the Bible Faculty Summit. The “Puritan canopy” that once overarched our city-on-a-hill began to fray and tear apart long ago—though that canopy always had its gaps (and its cotton-poly blends with American civil religion).1 The morality Christendom bequeathed to the Western world more generally still covers many areas of U.S. culture, and by God’s common grace the stitching is often quite strong. But Christian sexual morality is clearly in tatters. It...
The Original Pronunciation for Shakespeare’s Plays
Well isn't this fascinating. Shakespeare's plays were pronounced significantly differently when they were originally performed. And we miss some humor and rhyming because of it. It is more than possible—and this video argues that it is pretty well universal—that contemporary actors have solemnly intoned 16th century sex jokes to audiences who all nod sagely while, along with the actors themselves, totally missing the point. Phonology is, for me, an almost entirely unexplored dimension of...
A Nerdy Post about Writing: An Excerpt from My Sent Folder
A non-Christian friend I talked to many times on the bus asked me a question about whether or not he should take an online fiction-writing opportunity he'd been handed. I appreciated being asked. He's a neat guy with real talent. I replied, and it gave me an opportunity to talk a little about writing in a way readers and writers might find helpful… I have always felt averse to writerly self-promotion, partly because Jesus warned against putting myself forward pridefully (Luke 14:7–11) and...
Is the CSB Suitable for Expository Preaching? An Excerpt from my Sent Folder
A reader who attends Boyce College, the undergraduate school of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary: I'm not going to keep you, this is the only question I will ask and then I'll simply follow you via social media; can I trust the CSB as an expository preacher? Interested in your thoughts (which will remain here). Thanks, Mark. A writer who doesn't wish his thoughts to remain there: Great question. I would say two things: You have to trust someone, or a group of someones, until you can...