I don’t know about you, but I am constantly bombarded by “helpful” suggestions about all the things I ought to be doing about my health, my work, my family, my finances, all those books I’ve just GOT to read. Frankly, it’s exhausting just hearing about it all. So...
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July 3, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies
When reading biblical poetry, one must learn to connect with the poem on more than one level. While it is important to carefully define the Hebrew words being employed in any passage, and to track a poem’s use of parallelism and word pairs, and to follow the overall...
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June 28, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
A centipede was happy – quite!Until a toad in funSaid, “Pray, which leg moves after which?”This raised her doubts to such a pitch,She fell exhausted in the ditchNot knowing how to run. (Katherine Craster (1841-74) A spider met a centipedewhile hurrying down the street,“How do you move at...
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June 26, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Communication
Don’t allow self-defensive thoughts like, “So, everything I’ve done for X years was a misguided waste?” “So, I’m not good enough?” “So! You think I can’t properly interpret the Scriptures in English?” prevent you from taking that next vital step in your dedication to radically improving your knowledge...
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June 23, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies
When I passed inspection for receiving my ministerial license, the individual responsible for my review spread out, like a row of piano keys, the many pages of answers I gave to the theological questions I was asked to address in the process. He ummm-ed a bit, scratched his...
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June 21, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Theology, Theology
Poetry, by definition, is usually regarded as distinct from another category of writing called Prose. To express it simply, Prose is normal writing. It reflects the speech patterns of typical daily conversation, even if a bit more planned and carefully refined. Poetry then is an alternate way of...
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June 19, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
I realize that the second someone makes a statement like, “Every Christian leader should learn biblical languages,” feelings of condemnation erupt. “So, everything I’ve done for X years was a misguided waste?” “So, I’m not good enough?” “So, I can’t properly interpret the Scriptures in English?” If I...
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June 16, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies
If I had to describe my rather short life on social media, I would depict the bulk of it as “THE MEME WARS.” Since you are reading this online, I doubt I have to explain to you that memes are those pictures that people post with snappy little...
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June 14, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Communication, Ethics, Society, Theology
No Comment
If I am to judge by our government, our media outlets, and by the American people’s voting habits, America is suffering from a horrible condition known as stupidity. Stupidity is not a lack of facts, for we have never had a greater capacity to garner facts if we...
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June 12, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Society
Ruth is one of my favorite books, but I have a serious problem with it. The problem is the name. Now, I know that the Jews also called the book “Ruth” and that I should respect that, but honestly I just can’t bring myself to do it. The...
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June 9, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Theology, Old Testament Studies
Pain is the common lot of humanity. We cause most of our own pain directly or indirectly, and find the ultimate source of our deepest pain in the general human condition… caused, if one believes the Scriptures, by man. Somehow, even in the church, we have bought into...
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June 7, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
One of my goals in writing each week is to help people become better Bible readers. Part of being a better Bible reader is being a better thinker. Part of being a better thinker is to learn to look beyond the surface of an issue to discover the...
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June 2, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Society
The word virgin has, ironically enough, become a dirty word in our society.[1] The entertainment industry spits out movie after show presenting virginity as something distasteful, mockable, proof that you aren’t “with it” and lack some essential high school experience that makes the rest of your classmates sophisticated...
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May 29, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Society
No Comment
There are a lot memes that fly around social media; some are insightful, others only appear insightful. This one, which was constructed by others using an out of context quote from Carl F. Henry, for whom I have nothing but regard, is a case in point. It...
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May 24, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Society
No Comment
Winston Churchill said, “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” This is a sad truth, but it still does not shake my convictions regarding democratic process. Somehow the conflicting self-interest of millions achieves better things (though never perfect things) than anything...
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May 17, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Society
So in Chapter 2 verse 15, Matthew deems Joseph’s return to Israel after a quick escape from Herod by hiding out in Egypt for a time to be a fulfillment of Hosea 11:1, which says, “Out of Egypt have I called my son.” Many have suggested that such...
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May 15, 2017 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
Let’s consider the 7th of seven paths of investigation needed to unlock potential rationales behind NT authors’ use of OT texts. Matthew 2:15 says that an historical comment in Hosea 11:1 is “fulfilled” in Jesus’ childhood departure from Egypt. Does this prove that NT writers didn’t care about...
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May 12, 2017 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT
In a day when the worst sin a person can commit personally is to “make someone else feel bad,” Gospel preaching has taken a bit of a hit. We want to preach good news… which is what gospel means, but we seem to imagine that good news is...
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May 10, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Theology
No Comment
One of the benefits of living in a nation of 300 million people is that our society is rife with any kind of anecdotal evidence a person needs to convince themselves that their vision of the world is right. The media has enough fodder to stuff our gaping...
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May 8, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Society
It’s no secret that I’m a dinosaur, a has-been, an old person who is personally responsible for every failing of society, and the primary reason why so many millennials don’t already live in the Utopia they are sure they will be able to create just as soon as...
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May 5, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Worship
