Category Archives: Theology

Is Christianity about faith or *reverence*?

Generally, faith-based religion defends the goodness of the divine, while religion that is centered on reverence is not afraid to face the idea that the divine may seem evil in human terms. (Paul Woodruff, Reverence, 69) That parenthetical comment sure … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Religion, Theology | 1 Comment

“I am not my sin” – The finest podcast I have ever heard?

Funny how everything works together. I was mildly annoyed when 3 teenagers who attend Church of the Nations said they needed me to take them home in the church bus – which had left 10 minutes earlier. Sigh. Which meant … Continue reading

Posted in Hamartiology (sin), Media, Ministry, Orthodoxy, Same-sex | Comments Off

Ecclesiastes: Preacher of Surprising Joy 4/5

Wait. We had 3/4 and now 4/5. Hunh? Let me explain. The number of weeks I would have to lead this study on Ecclesiastes went from 6 to 4 then back to 6. The session on hebel took 2 weeks. … Continue reading

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Why resurrection in Luke 24? (or) Finrod the elven king’s insights on Incarnation

I have been wanting to share some of these thoughts for at least a couple years. Wednesday night prayer meeting. Been looking at the post-resurrection stories. Luke 24 leading into Acts. Walk to Emmaus. Then the resurrected Christ appears to … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, Literature, New Testament, Theology, Tolkien | Comments Off

Popular mistranslations in Psalms 23 and 118

The minister with youth has been taking Hebrew at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and we have had some interesting conversations. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. – Psalm 23:6 The Hebrew verb … Continue reading

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SERMON – “Doubt. See. Touch. Believe.” (John 20)

I do not like to post sermons because most of them are not very good. But I felt good about this one. “Doubt. See. Touch. Believe.” John 20:19-31 Richard M. Wright Church of the Nations Second Sunday of Easter (C) … Continue reading

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Grace and providence in small random decisions

Testimony time. I am fascinated by the significance of small random decisions. When I do something unusual and/or unexpected. Two recent examples. I hate WalMart. I hate shopping. But need to eat something for lunch. Because it is Lent need … Continue reading

Posted in Ecclesiastes, Ministry, Personal, Theology | Comments Off

Joshua Villines on “What do the Christians believe?”

Joshua Villines is a pastor as well as a PhD candidate at Vanderbilt University in liturgics and homiletics. He lives with his family in Decatur just outside Atlanta. Thanks be to God I know him personally and have had to … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity, Theology | 2 Comments

REVIEW – “How to Train Your Dragon”

Whenever my kids complain about how cold it is I remind them of their Viking ancestors. “How to Train Your Dragons” tells the story of a boy who lives in a Viking village where it snows 70% of the year … Continue reading

Posted in Hebrew Bible, Movies and film, Theology | Comments Off

Ecclesiastes: Preacher of Surprising Joy 2/4

This is part 2. What Qohelet observes about the cosmos and about life and conclude everything is hebel. Adobe Acrobat and PowerPoint files for the presentation. Ecclesiastes study presentation 2/4 PowerPoint Ecclesiastes study presentation 2/4 PDF

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