Last year, a dear friend shared a link to an article called “An Open Letter to Pastors (A Non-Mom Speaks about Mother’s Day).”[1] Its main goal is to wrap Pastors’ heads around how hurtful Mother’s Day can be for so many women whose personal relationship to Mother’s Day...
Continue reading
May 3, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Society
In my recent post, “A Meditation on “My Wife Has Tattoos: Marriage, New Birth and The Gospel,” I sought to counter what I perceived a certain naiveté. As the father of four and one who has done pre-marital counseling, I thought this article needed a little wisdom and...
Continue reading
May 2, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Society
Even though I specialize in Old Testament Studies and interpretive methodology, I still find certain areas of study quite difficult to unravel. The world of the Old Testament has many secrets that the millennia have yet to whisper into our modern ears. The exact meaning of much...
Continue reading
April 29, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, HAGALAH, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
This is a sensitive post for me today. I want to respond to another Christian blogger’s post. Unfortunately, by doing so, I set myself up to look bad, to look like a big meanie who poo-poos a post meant to be loving and honoring. I set myself up...
Continue reading
April 27, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Society, Theology
No Comment
Today we have a guest Blogger. John Donnelly, Biblical Literacy Ministries Educator, Church Planter, Part-year missionary to India. John has a Master’s in Old Testament Studies from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Masters degree in New Testament studies from the same. So here he is on “The Unseemly Assumptions about...
Continue reading
April 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
It is a complex world with complex problems. The desire for sure answers and ethical certainty in my own religious community has not, however, historically, driven them to examine issues, nor to contemplate the methods and principles by which one might do so. It has, rather, driven them...
Continue reading
April 22, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Society
No Comment
Okay, so let’s get one thing straight; covenant is a genre. In fact, covenant is a genre with several sub-genres. (I’ll discuss sub-genres in another post.) This means that covenant has recognizable forms that developed in history through human interaction and communication in particular places among particular people.[1]...
Continue reading
April 20, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Studies, HAGALAH, Old Testament Studies
Joseph Bonham, M.A. is today’s guest blogger. Joseph has his own blog called the Biblical Bean, linked below. In addition to a Bachelors in Biblical Studies, he holds a master of arts from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Biblical Languages / Hebrew Bible. ·He has agreed to address a question I...
Continue reading
April 18, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Theology, Meeting the Jesus of Mark
No Comment
Those of us who do their best to follow the happenings on the political front are no strangers to the name Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City. Some are sympathetic to his many causes and others, like myself, are openly antagonistic to them—Not, as he and...
Continue reading
April 15, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Society
No Comment
We’ve been discussing some important points about Covenant both in Scripture and in the ancient world. So, if you’ve been following my string of posts on Covenant, here are our facts so far: Today, I’d like to add a 6th element to this list. So here goes: 6....
Continue reading
April 13, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, HAGALAH, Old Testament Studies
No Comment
I can hardly believe that we are, today, having to argue FOR the right of young girls to use public restrooms, gym changing rooms and school showers without having their sense of safety, modesty, and morality assaulted by the forced presence of emotionally and mentally confused men. That, however,...
Continue reading
April 11, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Society
No Comment
Since we live in a contractual world, not a covenantal world, a crash course in biblical era covenant cutting is in order. Now, don’t get me wrong, we still have the tattered remnants of covenant-making in our modern western societies, but it mostly resembles the scattered debris of...
Continue reading
April 11, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Theology, Old Testament Studies
No Comment
Guess what. You are already dead… you just haven’t stop moving around yet. You might finish your life’s journey today or a year from now, or 100 years from now, but you are already a “Dead Man Walking.” This is an important fact to know. Once you fully...
Continue reading
April 8, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Society
No Comment
Some Scriptures cause me pain, especially when held in tension with others… seemingly conflicting ideas pulling at the soul, demanding wisdom… and let’s face it, wisdom can be exhausting. It’s so much easier to either throw caution to the wind or to develop a strict moral code in...
Continue reading
March 11, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Communication, Society
John 14:13 says “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do…” I have to admit, I find this very exciting… No, dizzying! A Jet Ski! I’ve always wanted a Jet Ski and a house by a lake so that I can ride it around whenever I...
Continue reading
March 9, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, New Testament Studies
No Comment
Some words require a serious amount of cultural packaging to define… (A Technical Term is not just a different Word; it’s a different World.) …such as our past discussion on the importance of Ancient Near Eastern war runners for understanding the meaning of Gospel.[1] Other words, however, give...
Continue reading
March 7, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Theology, Communication, Inductive Study Methods, Meeting the Jesus of Mark, New Testament Studies
Words have a lot more than just a definition. Words have associations. Words have rich emotional content. That emotional content is a powerful tool in communication. Choosing the right word at the right time can take a sentence from blah to TADAH!!!! And just to prove that I...
Continue reading
March 4, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Communication, Society
Angel, from Pune India, asked: Is getting a tattoo on the body against Scripture? Good question. There are health concerns and there are social concerns… but are there major religious concerns? Let us forget for a moment that health concerns and social concerns ARE ALWAYS religious concerns as...
Continue reading
March 1, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Communication, HAGALAH, Old Testament Studies, Society
Let’s make one basic point. Equality is both an essential truth and a complete fallacy. “Now, wait a minute, Bub. Equality is the bedrock of our nation… the most noble pursuit in the history of man. Equality is the morality of our new age. It’s right up there...
Continue reading
February 26, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Society
Should Christians be patriotic? Great question, I’m glad you asked. The best answer I can give up front is, “What do you mean by patriotic?” Definition is always the best place to begin. Without definition of key terms each person in a discussion fills in those terms with...
Continue reading
February 24, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Society, Theology, Uncategorized
