Nothing surprises me more than when I make a basic true statement and end up with a meltdown, accusation, or insult. If the word modesty shows up in any conversation with a female under the age of, say 70, they have been trained, not unlike a few Rottweilers...
Continue reading
July 13, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Society
No Comment
The painful lessons of life make the deepest impact on our delicate, and yet ever so dull, minds when we are children. Indeed, I’ve come to refer to pain as “The Great Teacher,” which, given the growing trend of parenting techniques as I reached marriageable age caused me...
Continue reading
June 24, 2016 Andrew Sargent
New Testament Studies, Society
No Comment
In Fatal Addiction, James Dobson interviews serial killer Ted Bundy only a few hours before his execution. Oddly enough, the main topic of conversation is not his pending death. Rather, in his last hour, a seemingly sorrowful Bundy warns against the destructive influences of pornography. In light of...
Continue reading
June 22, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Ethics
Let’s consider three different translations for 1 Thessalonians 4:4 in context. Paul uses a figure of speech that has many people scratching their heads. The King James takes a rather literal approach. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-6 reads: For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye...
Continue reading
June 20, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, New Testament Studies
No Comment
I just saw one of those Facebook posters that read, “Repost this if you know someone who is still alive because you can’t afford a hitman.” It reminded me of one of the most annoying people I’ve ever met. He attended Bible college with me back in 1987....
Continue reading
June 17, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Society
No Comment
The number of ethical issues raised by a reading of The Hiding Place highlights the struggle encountered by those, who, taking sin seriously, seek to please the Lord in this world. Corrie Ten Boom’s tale of delivering the innocent from Nazi villainy poses an ethical challenge to me,...
Continue reading
June 15, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Ethics
Covenant is a Genre based on the concept that the Holy is actively involved in the affairs of Man, Holding Men to their oaths. Men call upon the gods to bless or curse them in keeping with promises made concerning general or specific expressions of loyalty to another....
Continue reading
June 13, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
No Comment
A recent article being passed around Facebook, headlines, “1500 Year Old Bible Claims Jesus Christ Was Not Crucified – Vatican In Awe,” The subtext reads, “Much to the dismay of the Vatican, an approx. 1500-2000 year old Bible was found in Turkey, in the Ethnography Museum of Ankara.”[1]...
Continue reading
June 10, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Society
No Comment
Here I go again, sticking my big nose into someone else’s blog post. I feel a little like a techno-savvy Gladys Kravitz. (For any Millennials who might be reading this, she was the nosy neighbor from Bewitched… the TV show from the 60s… not the recent movie. Explaining...
Continue reading
June 8, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Society
No Comment
I had a discussion with a 19 year old the other day about the LGBT agenda, which, while not shared by all LGBT people, is being championed by progressive politicians. Nothing enables a power grab more than the American public’s conviction that someone is being treated unfairly in...
Continue reading
June 6, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Society
No Comment
In our last few posts on 1 Samuel 15:27-31, we attempted to unpack the text in context in order to draw out of it, the narrator’s intended theological message… i.e. the reason he included the story in the larger Samuel narrative. Individual stories function in larger biblical narrations...
Continue reading
June 3, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
No Comment
So far, we have considered 1 Samuel 15 from a different angles. We have discovered how serious Saul’s sin is. A sin akin to defiling the Ark of the Covenant and stealing the golden lampstand for good measure. We have examined the meaning of Saul’s grasp of Samuel’s...
Continue reading
May 30, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
No Comment
We are looking at the divine condemnation of Saul’s dynasty in 1 Samuel 15, having already considered the seriousness of the sin which lead directly to it. In the midst of the exchange between discredited king and holy prophet, 1 Samuel 15:27-31, a strange social ballet of sorts...
Continue reading
May 27, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
No Comment
Okay, Saul goofed. He failed to perfectly enacts a rather brutal command to exterminate another people group. It’s hard to get our modern hearts around this too much. We aren’t so keen on genocide these days, and we have more than a little resentment for the kind of...
Continue reading
May 25, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
No Comment
With the development of medical technology, society is placed in unique ethical dilemmas, which are not easily answered by scriptural commands concerning the preserving and taking of human life. Of these, the most complex is the capacity to preserve life long after the capacity for cognitive life is...
Continue reading
May 20, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Ethics
No Comment
I am continuing today with my week long summary and reflection on Martin Buber’s monumental work, I and Thou. If this confuses you, I recommend reading or re-reading my previous four posts on Buber’s work. I-thou represents the attitude of man in communion with God and his creation....
Continue reading
May 16, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Theology
No Comment
I am continuing today with my week long summary and reflection on Martin Buber’s monumental work, I and Thou. If this confuses you, I recommend reading or re-reading my previous three posts on Buber’s work. I-thou represents the attitude of man in communion with God and his creation....
Continue reading
May 13, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Theology
No Comment
I am continuing today with my week long summary and reflection on Martin Buber’s monumental work, I and Thou. If this confuses you, I recommend reading or re-reading my previous two posts on Buber’s work. I-thou represents the attitude of man in communion with God and his creation....
Continue reading
May 11, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Theology
No Comment
I am continuing today with my week long summary and reflection on Martin Buber’s monumental work, I and Thou. The best way to introduce Buber’s idea in his book I and Thou is with his own words. “To man,” he says, “the world is two-fold in keeping with...
Continue reading
May 9, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Theology
No Comment
I read a lot. I read a lot of lots of different stuff. For my academic work I read large amounts of material on linguistics, history, theology, interpretive methodology, and biblical studies, (not to mention reading articles about politics and religion and psychology and the like all day...
Continue reading
May 8, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Theology
No Comment
