Escaping the Tyranny of Certainty: Text Criticism in Isaiah 40:3
A few posts back, I began a discussion on the contrast between the scholarly handling of Isaiah 40:3 in the Hebrew and its appearance in both the Greek versions and…
How to Think Like a Text Critic
I launched a few posts back into a discussion of the scholarly handling of Isaiah 40:3 in both the Hebrew texts and the Greek texts. In the Hebrew, a voice…
The Tyranny of Certainty: In Defense of Text Criticism
I’ve mentioned previously that I tend to be rather open to discussions about theology and the meanings of Biblical texts, but that I also have two groups running around the…
Confessions of a Middle Aged Professor, Part 2
In my last post, I took an honest look at my early years as a biblical studies professor. I considered a handful of things I could have done better as…
Confessions of a Middle Aged Professor, Part 1
In studies of cross-cultural communication, I have never ceased to be amazed at the potential for a disconnect even between those raised together. The unique struggles between nature & nurture,…
Why You Must Watch the Documentary Poverty, Inc.
When I first saw the advertisement of the documentary advertised above, POVERTY, INC. I thought, “Great, another conspiracy piece about how nobody should ever make a profit, how all profit…
It’s Not MY Fault: Denying Our Humanity In Denying Our Culpability
A lot of people have terrible things happen to them. Some children are beaten, sexually assaulted, feast on a steady diet of verbally demeaning rhetoric. There is war and oppressive…
Using Scripture Like Satan: The Word Faith Heresy vs. Jesus
I have of late, been addressing the popularity of Word Faith teachers whose central focus in ministry (other than collecting your offerings) is to tell you that God has promised…
The Power of “But If Not” in Daniel 3:18: True Faith Amid Word Faith Heresies
In my last post, I mentioned that Rev. Mike Caparrelli, pastor of Sacred Exchange Fellowship in East Greenwich RI, an old student of mine, recently gave a rousing example of…
Some Lessons Can Only Be Learned IN the Fiery Furnace
In a recent set of posts on Hebrews 11:3, I was pretty brutal on Word Faith teachers… what some call Hyper-faith teachers, or the Name-it-Claim-it bunch. They teach that God…
The Day I Beat Kleptomania and Became an Honest Man: What Does Choice Really Look Like?
We live in a day of heartfelt excuse making for human sin. On one side, everything is your “parent’s” fault… of course, their faults are their “parent’s” fault, and so…
The LORD God Walking in the Cool of the Judgment Scene: Genesis 3:8 in Light of Storm Theophany
In my last blog I began discussing issues of grammar and word meaning in Genesis 3:8. The text is typically translated with something akin to “And they heard the sound…
The LORD God Walking in the Cool of the Judgment Scene: Genesis 3:8
In my series, 101 Most Misunderstood Passages, there are different sorts of texts that I tackle. Some I am adamant about. Others are reasonable curiosities. The rest fill out the…
When the Enemy Comes in Like a Flood, You’ve been Misquoting Isaiah 59:19: Part 3—Isaiah 59:19 in Context
In two previous posts, we’ve been considering the radically altered translation of Isaiah 59:19 between the King James Version and most other modern English translations. While the pertinent portion of…
When the Enemy Comes in Like a Flood, You’ve been Misquoting Isaiah 59:19: Part 2—Almost Every Other English Translation but the KJV
In a recent post I began a discussion on the problems with the KJV’s translation of Isaiah 59:19, whose part of concern reads, “When the enemy shall come in like…
When the Enemy Comes in Like a Flood, You’ve been Misquoting Isaiah 59:19: Part 1—KJV
The pertinent part of Isaiah 59:19 reads in the King James Version, “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a…
Why You Should be Against Anti-discrimination Laws: The Tyranny of “Do-gooders”
I find that political discussion with Christians and non-Christians alike often turns into a confusion between moralizing and good principles of governance. Many seem unable to disentangle their heart’s desire…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Language Issues
HAGALAH
Inductive Study Methods
Old Testament Studies
Train Up a Child and Everything Is Your Fault, Part 3: Is Proverbs 22:6 a Promise?
In two previous posts I’ve been discussing Proverbs 22:6 and the translation issues involved in what seems a rather ambiguous central phrase, “upon the mouth of his way” which seems…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Language Issues
HAGALAH
Old Testament Studies
Train Up a Child and Everything Is Your Fault, Part 2: What is the way of the Child?
In a previous post, we turned our attention to a literal rendering of Proverbs 22:6, which being one of the most hurled about texts, whether in accusation, self-defense, or hopeful…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Biblical Language Issues
HAGALAH
Inductive Study Methods
Old Testament Studies
Train Up a Child and Everything Is Your Fault, Part 1: Translation Issues in Proverbs 22:6
Proverbs 22:6 is one of the most quoted, potentially mistranslated and, thus, misunderstood verses in the Bible. As commonly rendered, it is interpreted as a glorious promise of “do it…