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…
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…
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…
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…
By Faith We Understand: Hebrews 11:3 & The Word Faith Heresy
In a previous post, “What Makes a Pagan Pagan?: The Word Faith Heresy” I began discussing the two foundational errors of heart and mind that feed the many errors of…
What Makes a Pagan Pagan?: The Word Faith Heresy
I am a patient scholar. I regard the entire process of biblical interpretation as a complex interdependence of people over millennia trying to plumb the depths of Scripture through an…
Bible Study as Conversation: The Interdependence of Ages
I’ve been sharing my thoughts of late on the subject of reading Scripture in translation and the common discomfort that Evangelicals usually feel when scholars suggest that there is some…
Don’t Know Greek & Hebrew? Read Several Different Translations
Growing up it was not uncommon for the leaders in my church to claim that Scripture, being inspired, was easy to understand. Why would God speak to his people in…
Bible Translations are Both a Blessing and a Curse
I hardly need to recount the blessings of translating the Bible. It is the most basic sense of preaching… translations seek to present the word of God, the Gospel of…
Can You Trust Translations of the Bible?
I was asked once to deliver a lecture titled, “Is the Bible Reliable?” I asked, “Reliable for what?” One asks, “Can you trust translations of the Bible?” I counter ask,…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Studies
HAGALAH
New Testament Studies
NT's Use of the OT
Old Testament Studies
Society
The Foundation of Beautiful Society: Genesis 9 and Natural Rights
While foolishly engaging a Twitter troll the other day, as this egomaniacal barbarian cursed the idea of God and Scripture, declaring Christianity and all other religion the source of all…
Genesis as Ancestor Epic Part III: The First Law as the Seed of All Just Law
In two recent posts we began to discuss the implication of reading Genesis as an Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) Ancestor Epic, a collection of stories that a people tell themselves…
Genesis as Ancestor Epic, Part II: What is an Ancient Creation Story?
In a recent post we began discussing the nature of Genesis as an ancestor epic—the stories that a people tell themselves about how they almost weren’t a people. Crises have…
Genesis as Ancestor Epic, Part I: Getting with the Program
When reading any document it helps to know what you are reading. Is this document a comic meant to be funny, mocking or otherwise derisive? Is this document a fiction…