I pray that all who hate the city of Zion will be made ashamed and forced to turn and run. And don't let anyone who passes by say to them, "The LORD bless you! I give you my blessing in the name of the LORD." (Psalm 129:5,8 CEV)

I was writing a comment to the evangelism thread, noting its fizzling participation. I was positing various reasons for this apparent lack of interest, and penned the following (hereby removed from there in favor of here): » read more »

Please show me the Biblical basis of and parameters for evangelism.

Matthew 7:1 must be one of the more frequently abused Scripture verses.

Judge not, that ye be not judged. (Matthew 7:1 KJV)

First, let's put it into its immediate context, Matthew 7:1-5: » read more »

2 Corinthians 11:19 may very well be the most sarcastic line penned by Paul. Its meaning is quite evident, though: the wise are not to tolerate fools. Put another way, stupidity is not at all kosher. Foolishness, stupidity, and sin are almost synonymous. A fool, in the Biblical sense, is one who practices sin, as opposed to a true believer whose sins are unwanted exceptions rather than preferred. I personally like the word "stupid" over "foolish" only because it's more insulting (I hate sin!), but it's pretty much the same thing in my book. After all, one must be pretty stupid indeed to disobey the Supreme Judge, let alone make it a habit. » read more »

I wonder if the earthly authors (or God's scribes) of the Bible knew at the time they were writing that it was the Word of God. To be sure, much (all?0 of Moses' writings seem to have been known to be Scripture at that time (e.g., "Thus saith the Lord..."). Many of the later prophets had no qualms about attributing certain quotations to the Lord, but were they so sure about the rest of their recorded history? Did the authors simply entrust that judgment to the subsequent canonization process? » read more »

Preachers are fond of talking about "advancing", "furthering", "adding to", or "growing" the Kingdom. These phrases are usually used in the context of Christian ministry and witnessing, suggesting that our evangelism can/will make the Kingdom expand. I have not been able to find any Biblical references to this concept. Where in the Scriptures does our Lord mention anything about our ability, let alone responsibility, to advance or grow His Kingdom? » read more »

It's been long believed that James (the head of the Jerusalem church) was Jesus' biological brother. He's called "brother", for sure. However, the same Greek term for "brother" was repeatedly used whether it applied biologically or spiritually. In contrast, Catholic doctrine states Jesus had no biological siblings. (The reasons stem from an unbiblical doctrine, but that's not important here.) What is important is that a case for this belief can be made Biblically. Given the nebulous use of the term "brother", it's difficult to be dogmatic one way or the other. However, it's interesting to note that Jesus appointed John as the caretaker of His mother as He was dying. » read more »

Hermeneutics is simply a fancy word for Scriptural interpretation, specifically philosophies and principles thereof. There are several different schools of hermeneutics, different ways of interpretation Scripture. Many are inconsistent with themselves, and most are ultimately inconsistent with Scripture. Here I'd like to describe what I have come to believe is the proper, best way to interpret God's Word. » read more »

Are you a theologian? The overwhelming majority of those who claim to be Christian will say, "No." Sadly, they're usually correct. Theology is merely the study of God. Studying God can be done several ways: » read more »