Over 40 years ago I published “Samson’s Removal of Gaza’s Gates,” Journal of the Near Eastern Archaeological Society 8 (1976): 83–93. Prof. Stan Swinney and I worked on the research for this article a mere four years into my first full-time teaching post in Denver, CO. We intended to publish a series of articles we …
Narratives occupy a large portion of the Bible, whether its pages record the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph or the wanderings of Israel in the wilderness, or the events surrounding the judges and kings of Israel, or the stories of Ruth or Esther. And, those are just part of the Old Testament narratives. …
Identifying the Imperatives in Biblical Narratives Read More »
Narratives occupy a large portion of the Bible, whether its pages record the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph or the wanderings of Israel in the wilderness, or the events surrounding the judges and kings of Israel, or the stories of Ruth or Esther. And, those are just part of the Old Testament narratives. …
Identifying the imperatives in Biblical Narratives Read More »
A sense of urgency characterizes nearly everyone who believes that God has led them to become missionaries for the gospel of Jesus Christ. As a result, many consider going to the mission field with either minimum training or with no formal training at all. Why go through years of seminary training? “Will it actually prepare me for …
How much seminary training does a missionary need? Read More »
Dawn breaks on Saturday, September 23, 2017 . . . then what? Some people will spend the entire day looking upward, awaiting the return of Jesus Christ. Why? Because someone has convinced them that they know something Jesus Himself did not know: Matthew 24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the …
Churches and individuals too often neglect Bible translation as a missions ministry. After all, that’s something for the experts and for organizations like Wycliffe Bible Translators to handle, right? However, as long as churches remain committed to missionary evangelism and church planting they will need the Bible. Try doing missions ministries (spiritual ministries, not going to …
Why is Bible translation an important missions ministry? Read More »
As I continue to populate my list of books I most highly recommend, I move now to the New Testament commentaries. See What Books Do You Recommend Most Highly? (click on that title–it is a link that will take you to that first post) for the start of the list and the identification of the Old …
A few weeks ago I began to list all of the books for Bible study that I most highly recommend. See What Books Do You Recommend Most Highly? As of today I have completed the list of my most highly recommended commentaries on the Old Testament. Be certain to keep checking on that post as it grows. …
Everyone who loves books, selects certain books as their favorites. Through 54 years of Christian faith and over 50 years of ministry and study, I have come to appreciate a large number of authors and titles. A full listing remains outside the purpose of this post. Here I will highlight key books on a variety of topics. This …
Is the doctrine of creation a peripheral or secondary (or even tertiary) biblical doctrine? Some scholars opine that instantaneous, miraculous, divine creation as a doctrine should be exchanged for natural evolution. Others would soften the exchange and substitute theistic evolution–that at least keeps God in the picture, even if it removes the instantaneous and miraculous. …
