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Blessings! Gary
Since one night in 1985, I know what the world looks like through a zombie’s eyes.
In Scotland, I would go out evangelizing on Thursdays and then take the hour-long hike home in the dark. One night I figured that I could cut out to the main highway, grab a bus and save 20 minutes. The only hitch was that the short-cut went through Grove Cemetery. No problem, I would enter the gate, do a 100-yard dash, go over the wall and there was the bus stop.
Grove Cemetery by day, starting line of Gary’s night-time run
I did it only twice. Not because I got spooked, mind you, but because as I clambered over the 6-foot wall and jumped out onto the shoulder, well, it caused problems with the flow of traffic. Eyes popped open, jaws dropped, women shrieked, as they saw me apparently escaping from the graveyard and stumbling up the embankment toward them.
So, I know how a zombie feels.
I’ve seen, twice, George Romero’s black-and-white “Night of the Living Dead,” the original 1968 version. Oh, and Charlton Heston in “The Omega Man”. Beyond that I sat through about 20 minutes of that movie where Bill Murray gets accidentally shot.
Nevertheless, I’m confident that I can develop “What the Bible Says about Zombies,” (more…)
Gullibility is not a fruit of the Spirit. Yes, Paul did say that a Christian “believes all things” (1 Cor 13:7), but what he meant was, “to whatever extent possible, believe the best about other people”.
It’s important to establish this up front, since Christians are regularly bombarded by rumors, many of which are false. Wait ‘til you hear this! someone breathlessly informs us:
They are banning all Christian radio! A guest preacher spoke in our church. “The famous atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair is leading a movement to take away our freedom!” he exclaimed. “If we don’t act now, then Christian radio programs will be banned!” He gave some details of the crisis, and I signed the petition to the FCC to reject the atheistic petition RM-2493 and keep the gospel message on the airwaves.
The only trouble is, I was fifteen when I put my signature on the petition. Yet decades later, that same warning keeps circulating, given new life by email and then Facebook. (more…)
Since the Rapture has made headlines lately, here are some observations.
The New Testament was written in Greek. Some argue that it was originally done in Hebrew, but they cannot provide ancient Hebrew (or Aramaic or Syriac) manuscripts to back that up. All of Paul’s churches used Greek as their principal language. Paul himself had grown up speaking a dialect of Greek known as koine. It is for this reason that many serious students of the Scriptures decide to study that language, just as many others study Hebrew.
Unfortunately, much of what we hear about Greek in books or from the pulpit is false or misleading. For example, some preach that the word agape means “divine love,” whereas phile means “human love or affection.” This is simply not the case, and the words are often interchangeable in the New Testament. I shudder every time I hear the words “I know that it says thus-and-such in your Bibles, but the Greek really says, etc.” Listen: English Bible versions – with a few exceptions – were carried out by leading experts in the field of the original languages, who have gone to great lengths to express the meaning of the original in English. You can trust your English Bible.
Yet, every once in a while there is a gem in the original Greek that is difficult to communicate in English. For example, the NIV of 1 Thess 4:17 has, “After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” The other versions are similar and equally reliable. In my forthcoming commentary on 1 and 2 Thessalonians (Zondervan) I opted to translate verse 17 as: “we who still live and remain will be taken up together with [those who were dead] in the clouds to welcome the Lord in the air.” “To meet,” a verb in most versions, represents a Greek preposition and noun, “for a meeting” (eis apantesin). Nevertheless, a verb in English captures the original Greek equally well.
But one might ask, what happens after the Christians meet the Lord in the air? Where do they go? (more…)
It was 9pm EDT and I was hooked up to Family Radio by internet, since I live outside the US. Harold Camping was going to speak and explain why the Rapture didn’t come on May 21. Remember, Camping had been absolutely clear about what was going to happen: the Rapture of 200 million people and a massive worldwide earthquake. This was not supposed to be symbolic. He did not offer a Plan B. He said anyone who disagreed with his interpretation did not believe in the Bible – his words, not mine.
Neither happened. (more…)
May 21 has come and gone. You won’t hear an “I told you so” from this Christian. No jokes. No funny looks. No condescending pity. Only concern.
When someone predicts a date for the rapture, it is not a miscalculation, but an actual sin.[1] It is a sin that has dreadful consequences for those who believe a lie. Harold Camping’s teaching is one such lie.
Nor can we say, well, he was wrong about the details of the rapture, but it was good because at least it got people thinking about God. Nonsense! People are using the failed prophecy right now as an excuse not to think about Christ or his coming. May 21 at 6pm, and you know what was happening at the Family Radio headquarters? People were dancing to rock music and making jokes about the Lord. Family Radio has set back the course of the gospel.
What will Camping do next? If history is any guide, he will take one of these options: (more…)
The following was published as
The Wicked will not Inherit the Kingdom of God”: a Pauline Warning and the Hermeneutics of Liberation Theology and of Brian McLaren
in Trinity Journal 31NS (2010)
Abstract: Emergent spokesman Brian McLaren promotes a view of the kingdom of God that draws near to and often merges with Liberation Theology. An examination of the Pauline texts of “exclusion from the kingdom” makes it clear how far he has moved away from evangelicalism. The more difficult McLaren will find it to accommodate certain Pauline texts, the more difficult it will be for him to refrain from pitting a Liberationist Jesus against a Pharisaic Paul. (more…)
I respond: There are several passages that might imply being able to recognize others in the afterlife.
1 Corinthians commentary, available from Logos!
Announcement! The English version of my 1 Corinthians commentary is now available from Logos.com; it is fully integrated with the Logos system. Only $19.95. Or you can download a pdf version for free from this blog! (http://openoureyeslord.com/2012/05/21/free-commentary-on-1-corinthians-2/)
What does agape mean?
What are the spiritual gifts?
Should women wear veils to church? Or remain absolutely silent?
What about divorce?
Do we exist as spirits forever?
Paul was a missionary – how did he know where to go?
These issues and many more!
https://www.logos.com/product/24079/first-corinthians-an-exegetical-pastoral-commentary
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on February 28, 2013 at 1:51 pm Comments (3)Tags: Bible, Christians, Corinthians, Paul