Gary Shogren's Blog
As C. S. Lewis said, some Christians are careless about the devil; some are too consumed with his existence. [1] So here’s a word for the preoccupied. I just heard a fine Holy Week sermon titled “It is Finished.” One of the references to Jesus’ crucifixion was, “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made... Continue Reading →
I love books, and use the Goodreads app because it enables me to log what I have read. I project that mid-year 2022 I will have read 2500 books, although I’m sure I have forgotten some hundreds. Beginning in Christmas break 2015 I decided to join their Reading Challenge for 2016. I have been doing... Continue Reading →
The teaching known as Lashon Hakodesh (“the sacred language”) is multifaceted. It was originally a designation for Biblical Hebrew as such. But it later grew to have more implications that Hebrew is somehow a magical language. There are sub-legends that follow along with this: 1. That Hebrew is the language spoken in heaven. 2. That... Continue Reading →
Graduation speeches are a mixed bag at best. But I did hear a fine one at my high school in 1977; one of his counsels for the graduates was: “Extend your education, both formal and informal, as far as is possible.” This phrase has stuck with me ever since. Your brain is not a muscle,... Continue Reading →
Description: Our new Facebook group is the follow-up to Biblical Latin Group, which studied Wheelock during 2021. In, which include 2022 we will read the Gospel of John, Romans, Hebrews, among other canonical books. And we will mine deeply the Latin Per Diem posts on YouTube. Half the year we will spend on the classics... Continue Reading →
A while ago, someone commented on this passage from Luke 17:20-21 – [1] Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within [ἐντός/entos] you.” (I quote the NKJV here, since that resembles the Spanish... Continue Reading →
The next time Dan Brown tells you that the Roman emperor Constantine invented the trinity; or the Jehovah's Witnesses tell you we worship a "three-headed God" - and they have been showing that fuzzy black-and-white photo for decades! - send them back to the history books! Especially this:“The Church, although scattered through the whole world,... Continue Reading →
Every week I spend perhaps an hour, responding to spiritual or theological questions that people send me by Messenger or email or through my blogs. Some weeks there are many questions. And believe me, I am pleased that people would ask. I am guided in this by my three "Patron Saints of Answering Questions." Bruce... Continue Reading →
Paul said in Colossians 1:19-20 - “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” The nails in Jesus’ time were handmade. And so, after... Continue Reading →
Every year I join the Goodreads Reading Challenge (take a look at the wonderful site, http://www.goodreads.com, where you can log your reading). This year, as in the past few years, I have set the goal of reading 104 books, an average of two per week. In addition, my commentary on 1 Corinthians (Spanish version) just... Continue Reading →
Open Our Eyes, Lord! 