In 1 Timothy, after his opening salutation, the Apostle Paul immediately launches into warnings about false teachers, false doctrine, myths and genealogies. What is he referencing in the category of “myths and genealogies”? The Faithlife Study Bible comments: The Greek term used here, mythos, refers to legendary stories about the gods. It also could be used to describe stories generally understood to be false. Such tales distracted believers from the truth (i.e., the gospel message) … Continue reading
Over the years we have watched various dubious fads ripple throughout the church. They’re not all the same, but one trait these fads seem to have in common is the loss of God’s holiness. Of course, God has lost none of His holiness, even after all these centuries, but the new fads seem almost universally to downgrade the Christian’s view of God’s awesome holiness. The awe is missing. One example is the new “travel industry” … Continue reading
This is a follow-up to the “Angels Unawares” article from The Crux, Thursday, August 29, 2019 and will be followed by articles on Nephilim and giants. These articles will be succinct versions of otherwise very detailed elucidations from several books I have written.1 The concept of “ex machina” refers to something that “appears as if out of nowhere, in a mechanical manner.”2 Such is how demons appear in the text of the Bible since it … Continue reading
Something always bugged me about Paul’s letter to the Romans. Growing up in the atmosphere of Evangelical churches, principally Baptist, I absorbed the accepted narrative of what was going on in Romans. Paul wrote a letter to the house churches in Rome. It is Paul’s “Theological letter” meaning it is this treatise on the Gospel, meaning how to get saved. Sure, Paul always has some practical application for believers signaled by the transition in 12:1 … Continue reading
When we were children back in the stone age, it was not uncommon to hear a parent say, “Watch your language!” It was sometimes punctuated with “young man” or “young lady.” Our language reflected the cultural values of the time. Certain communications were expected, and others definitely frowned upon. When speaking to adults we were expected to say, “yes sir” or “yes ma’am.” We did not refer to adults by their first name, ever, because … Continue reading
Several of us recently spent a day at a New Age Fair in Ohio talking with various exhibitors. Again, as was true at the last New Age fair we recently attended, in nearly every conversation the claim was made that reincarnation was in the Bible but was taken out by evil monks in the sixth century. Why evil monks would want to do such a thing I have no idea, but that is a very … Continue reading