What Happens in Greenville…
This post is not for all readers, just for those who have attended Christian universities in Greenville, South Carolina. Of which there are two. And kind of three. And there are seminaries there. All of which helps make my point. Soapbox 1 Greenville, South Carolina, where I spent 18 years, is a good place to be for conservative Christians—but not if they're supposed to leave. I'm no extremist, I don't think they should all make the reverse hajj I made last year. I'm glad I stayed there as...
Something I Am Embarrassed to Say I Just Learned
I knew that English Bible translators have access to a computerized linguistic corpus—an unbelievably massive collection of English texts—to help them do their work. What I didn't know, what I just learned, is that I do, too. What you're about to learn, if you didn't already know it, is so do you. So I chose to get involved in some online discussion about the KJV, and I'm glad I did. I was talking to some intelligent guys who kept me on my toes. I pointed out to them, in a broader argument...
Can I Smoke Pot? Live Interview Wednesday, Sep 14 at 11:05 Eastern
Tomorrow (Wednesday), Sep 14, from 11:05–11:30 a.m. Eastern, I'll be on Kevin Boling's live, call-in radio show talking about the new book I co-authored with my friend Tom Breeden, Can I Smoke Pot? Marijuana in Light of Scripture. I've been surprised to see how much interest this little book has generated. It's meant to be fairly introductory, the kind of thing you could give to any Christian interested in or struggling with this topic.
Lessons from a Back Porch in a Bad Neighborhood
I once stood on the back porch of a run-down home in a neighborhood your realtor wouldn’t even take you to. (Trust me.) I was the leader of an evangelistic outreach ministry, and I was with a college freshman I was mentoring. I wonder now if we were talking to a middle-aged prostitute... After many years of trying to understand, I never did fully grasp the world of that neighborhood. I’m sure I got laughed at for missing obvious cues. Anyway, one obvious fact I didn’t miss was that this woman...
A Vow Regarding the KJV
An online interlocutor with genuine intellectual acumen engaged me graciously but firmly on a recent post I wrote promoting the use of multiple Bible translations. He's essentially KJV-Only, though his professed allegiance is actually to Scrivener's Textus Receptus. He linked me to a lengthy bibliology statement by one Thomas Ross which he affirmed. To my knowledge, I have made two vows in my lifetime: 1) a vow to love my wife with the true love of delight (with all the attendant vows of a...